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Syria sees bright future with Turkey
ISTANBUL: Syrian Prime Minister Mustapha Miro wound up a two-day visit to neighbouring Turkey predicting a âbrilliant futureâ for relations between the two Middle Eastern states, which he described as âtwo brother countries.â
| No skin off my fore. As long as we know which side everybody's on... |
âI can see a brilliant future for our relations as long as this proximity goes on,â said Miro late on Wednesday, addressing a meeting of Turkish and Syrian business leaders in Istanbul. Anatolia news agency said that he added that the two countries had âinterests in common,â and that he considered their relationship to be strategic. Turkey and Syria should set up an âeconomic and commercial union,â he added. Turkish Minister of State Kursad Tuzmen said: "I like to think that the two countries have broken through an initial psychological barrier, with trade going over a billion dollars this year.â Miro, who was the first Syrian prime minister to visit Turkey in 17 years, later left for home. Turkeyâs often tense relations with Syria as well as Iran have warmed in the wake of the US-led war in Iraq. The three neighbors share concerns that any move towards self-rule by the Kurds in northern Iraq could spark unrest among their own Kurdish minorities.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-08-01 |
