Davutoglu, 'Turkey, Poland rising powers of Europe'

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Tuesday said both Turkey and Poland were rising powers of Europe in terms of their political stability and economic development.
Davutoglu, as a guest of honor, attended in capital Warsaw the Polish Ambassadors' Conference and delivered a speech entitled "Turkish-Polish Relations in Europe and in the World: From History to Global Era". Holding a joint press conference with his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski prior to the conference, Davutoglu said, "Both Turkey and Poland are rising powers of Europe in terms of their political stability and economic development. Indeed, at a time of political and economic crises, the performance, stability and development of Turkey and Poland constitutes a source of hope for Europe." Poland's Minister of Foreign Affairs Radoslaw Sikorski emphasized Turkey was going through a critical stage with important developments and defined Davutoglu as "a global figure". When asked about the Poland's position in regards to opening of "chapters", or policy areas, in Turkey's EU accession process, Sikorski said, "If the opening of the chapters were up to us, they would have been opened during Poland's EU term presidency. However, unfortunately this is a political situation. I believe it would be to the benefit of the EU for it to be hard-headed towards Turkey's accession."
Davutoglu addressed Polish ambassadors
Davutoglu marked the 90th anniversary of the Treaty of Friendship signed between Turkey and Poland on July 23, 1923, during his address to the Polish ambassadors.
Emphasizing further enhancement and strengthening of "the already excellent relations" between the two countries, Davutoglu mentioned "three quake-like incidents" which he said characterized the recent past, "namely the geopolitical earthquake that occurred during the fall of the Soviet Union, 9/11 attacks in the US and the economic crisis in Europe and political crisis in Middle east that began in 2010-2011." Davutoglu said both Poland and Turkey reacted to the incidents in a similar manner and went through difficult times, adding that Turkey was re-shaping its foreign policy to adapt to the new conditions. Later on Davutoglu held a bilateral meeting with Sikorski which was held closed to press.