OUR PRIME MINISTER ELATED US ALL WITH HIS MANNER IN DAVOS

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis, in the press conference organised after his meeting with Turgay Avci, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in Secretariat General for EU Affairs answered the questions concerning the reaction of the Prime Minister Erdogan as one of the persons accompanied the Prime Minister in Davos.
Bagis, stating that he has been accompanying Prime Minister Erdogan for 7 years in almost all international meetings, said:
"I observed that the Prime Minister continued his solemn attitude by which he always assigned priority to the honour of Turkey. Mr Prime Minister behaved there in a manner which elated us, the citizens of Turkish Republic and even all the Turks all over the world.
It is not a normal attitude for any person, whoever s/he may be, to address the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey by elevating his/her voice and with such gestures. Mr. Prime Minister there did not protect his personality but the honour and dignity of the citizens of the Republic of Turkey and did the necessary thing."
Bagis pointed that the Prime Minister continued his usual works after he left the meeting and met with Serj Sarkisyan, the President of Armenia and said: "That meeting has been an extremely successful one."
Stating that Klaus Schwab, Chairman of Davos World Economic Forum, apologised to Prime Minister Erdogan and indicated his intention to apologise before the media for this fault, Bagis said that the Prime Minister accepted this apology within the framework of Turkish traditions. Bagis reminded that Erdogan and Schwab held a joint press conference and said that they shared all the details of the event in that conference with the world media.
Minister for EU Affairs Bagis reminded that Simon Pres, the President of Israel, called Erdogan and told him that he was sorry about the event and expressed his respect to Erdogan's personality.
Indicating that lots of people welcomed them in Istanbul at 3 a.m. when they returned to Turkey, Bagis said: "Approximately 10 thousand people met the Prime Minister and us with great affection. This event displayed how sensitive the Turkish nation is with regard to the protection of its honour. Yesterday night I was affected so much. I would like to thank now all our citizens who attended the meeting to welcome us and the people of Istanbul most of whom are my electors."
Stating that their priority issue is to establish peace as soon as possible in the Middle East, Bagis said that all the actors in the Middle East now wished Turkey to be the mediator and continued as follows:
"Even Israel today, considers Turkey as the country to be called for help first when its soldiers are kidnapped or when it aims to develop its relations with Syria. It is calling Turkey when it desires to establish diplomatic relationship with Pakistan. However, Lebanon also calls Turkey likewise. Syria calls Turkey too. Other countries of the region also desire Turkey to be the mediator. Western countries ask for Turkey's help when they are confronted with problems in the region."
Indicating that Turkey is a serious power in the region, Bagis said that Turkey is not an ordinary country anymore. He expressed that Turkey had the 17th greatest economy in the world and 6th in Europe; is a member of UN Security Council, a permanent member of G20 summit and co-president of the Alliance of Civilisations. Bagis said: "Turkey is an important, crucial, strategic country and a regional power which can not be underestimated by anybody."
Turgay Avci, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, with regard to the reaction of Prime Minister Erdogan in Davos, said: "It was a manner which elated the Turkish Cypriots also. Mr. Prime Minister presented there to all the leaders of the Republic of Turkey the way how to behave. His reaction invigorated us all."
Avci stated that foreign policy of TRNC and negotiations for solving the Cyprus problem are carried out in harmony with Turkey and Turkish Cypriots would never be the party breaking the negotiations and the dialogue.
Stating that Bagis is a very experienced politician and a successful statesman, Avci expressed their satisfaction for his assignment.