Macedonian-Turkish relations

[George S.]

Turkey holds heaps of information on macedonia that can prove very usefull to show that the macedonians are not greek.they have all that in their archives.Turkey is only too happy to provide that proof.

[Pelister]

Would love to get a translation of this book in English.

[Bratot]

"Leave the name of Macedonia to Macedonia to avoid her being in the shade. When we have more important issues to deal with lets not focus on unimportant, in the interest of stabilizing the region, " said Erdogan.

"It is a country that we have unconditional support and wherever possible they appear, speak for us, lobby, push, asking, urging or anyway you want to name it. So it is one of our biggest supporters, big ally, " said Prime Minister Gruevski.

http://a1.com.mk/default.aspx


Prime Ministers Gruevski and Erdogan opened the EU Office in Istanbul


Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, who is visiting Turkey with his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul today opened the Office of the European Union.

As MIA reports from Istanbul, Macedonian Prime Minister's invitation to open the office together with Turkish Prime Minister is assessed as a great honor.

Turkey is a strong supporter of Macedonia's Euro-Atlantic integration, as well as in name dispute with Greece.

Macedonia and Turkey traditionally have good political relations. Macedonian-Turkish relations are at a very high level and are characterized by a spirit of friendship, mutual understanding, tolerance and active cooperation. Between the two countries are no open or contentious issues. Turkey strongly supports Macedonia in terms of differences with Greece and vigorously opposes any foreign pressures and blackmail to change its constitutional name. Strongly supports Macedonia's bid for NATO membership. It is the second country to recognize Macedonia under its constitutional name in 1992.

http://www.mia.com.mk/default.aspx?vId=69705012&lId=1


Greek panic:

Ερντογάν σε Γκρούεσκι: "Μη φοβάσαι τίποτε, εγώ είμαι εδώ

Erdogan to Gruevski: "Don't fear for anything, we are here!"

http://www.google.pl/search?hl=pl&q=...=&oq=&gs_rfai=


ISTANBUL (A.A) - 06.12.2009 - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday Macedonia has never been far for those living in Turkey.Speaking at the Turkish-Macedonian Business Forum in Istanbul on Saturday, Erdogan said that the Turks never saw the friends and brothers in Macedonia as people far away.

I believe that our solidarity and discussions at the highest level will carry Turkish-Macedonian relations further, Erdogan noted.

Nowadays, we are taking steps in the Middle East and Russia and removing visa requirements. We want to see Turkish-Macedonian businesspeople working hand in hand in such regions, Erdogan stressed.

We have always encouraged trade with Macedonia and will continue to do so, Erdogan said.

Turkey's trade volume with Macedonia is around 350 million USD. This figure is not adequate, Erdogan said.

Prime Minister of Macedonia, Nikola Gruevski, in his part said that the Macedonian government leases land up to 99 years.

"The Republic of Macedonia can offer land to Turkish companies," Gruevski said.

Our common goals with Turkey are to reach EU standards, establish dynamic economies and have more strength in competition, Gruevski also said. (SOL-GC)

http://haber.turk.net/ENG/2362382/-M...or-Us--Erdogan

Turkey, insisting in every official document of NATO to be noted that :"Turkey recognizes Macedonia under its constitutional name":





http://www.ethnos.gr/article.asp?cat...&pubid=8882884

with google translate whole article:
http://translate.google.com/translat...ubid%3D8882884

[Prolet]

This is something interesting, the Municipalities of Gjorche Petrov (In Skopje) and Kushadasi (Turkey) have agreed to build a walkway one will be called Kushadasi the other Makedonska Kukja.

Турска делегација во посета на Општина Ѓорче Петров

Договорена изградбата на шеталиште Кушадаси во Ѓорче


Идеите на градоначалниците на општините Кушадаси (Р.Турција) и Ѓорче Петров секој во збратимената општина да изгради по еден симбол на сопствената држава во знак на пријателство, ќе се реализираат. Ова било договорено викендов кога градоначалникот на Општина Ѓорче Петров, Сокол Митровски, беше домаќин на делегација од збратимениот град Кушадаси, предводена од градоначалникот Есад Алтунѓун.
- Градоначалниците Митровски и Алтунѓун се договорија проектите за изградба на шеталиштето "Кушадаси" во Ѓорче Петров и "Македонска куќа" во збратименото Кушадаси да бидат реализирани до крајот на мандатите на двајцата градоначалници, информираа одговорните од Општина Ѓорче Петров.

Двајцата градоначалници особено ја потенцирале потребата за интензивирање на предвидените заеднички планови од сферата на економијата, школството, спортот и културата.
Бидејќи дел од делегацијата биле и претставници од градската стопанска комора и членови на советот на градот Кушадаси, била договорена и скорашна средба на стопанственици од двете општини на која ќе се разгледаат можностите за соработка.
- Градоначалникот Митровски ја нагласи подготвеноста на општината да помогне во реализирање на можни инвестиции од турски инвеститори кои би биле заитересирани за вложување во општинското стопанство и изградба на нови капацитети. На средбата беше договорено кон средината на идниот месец делегација од општината Ѓорче Петров која ќе ја предводи градионачалникот Сокол Митровски.да оствари возвратна посета, информираат општинарите.
Гостите ги посетиле паркот во Ѓорче Петров, Мустафа паша џамијата на скопското кале, старата скопска чаршија и други знаменитости на градот Скопје. Воедно, делегацијата присуствувала и на заедничкиот појадок на Камениот мост, каде што остварила неформална средба со скопскиот градоначалник Коце Трајановски.

http://www.vecer.com.mk/default.asp?...CC8702E8DAD2E8

[Daniel the Great]

This friendship between Macedonia and Turkey is getting stronger and stronger.

[DirtyCodingHabitz]

If Turkey wasn't alive today, we would have been raped by now.

Bratot, thanks for posting this

[Soldier of Macedon]

Raped? How do you figure?

[DirtyCodingHabitz]

Originally Posted by Soldier of Macedon

Raped? How do you figure?

Well, greece and bulgaria with their army. Who was gonna protect us? don't expect EU or UN.

Turkey has always stood up for us since day 1 of independence.

[Rogi]

In fact, Turkey supported us from before that.

In the months leading up to the Macedonian Independence, there were a handful of Macedonians in secret talks behind closed doors with the Turkish Government and Turkish Military Generals, for the supply of arms and other forms of support, to the Republic of Macedonia at the time of independence, in the event that there would be a war (as there were with the other States who sought independence from Yugoslavia). The Turks offered and pledged their support.

[Onur]

Originally Posted by DirtyCodingHabitz

Well, greece and bulgaria with their army. Who was gonna protect us? don't expect EU or UN.

Turkey has always stood up for us since day 1 of independence.

I remember that when ROM declared her independence, Greece relocated all her army to their border with ROM and Turkey openly said Greece to not interfere anything in any case but in Turkish newspapers, journalists was writing like Turkish authorities strictly warned Greece behind closed doors that if Greek army would step inside ROM, then they would face with Turkish army there.

So, i believe if there wouldn't be Turkey, Greeks would follow much more aggressive policy. I don't think Europeans would prevent that either since they always supported Greece`s expansionist aims aka Megali idea(Anatolian invasion at 1919 and Enosis in Cyprus at 1974)

Originally Posted by Rogi

In fact, Turkey supported us from before that.

Actually, we can go back much earlier date like 1934. Soon after the formation of republic of Turkey at 1923, Ataturk realized that there will be WW-2 soon because of rising fascist and expansionist philosophies in Italy and Germany. He knew that Italy could penetrate into Balkans from Albania and Bulgars would join Nazis to occupy Macedonia. So, he wanted to form an unity in Balkans against increasingly aggressive foreign policy of fascist Italy and a potential Bulgarian alignment with Nazi Germany. Ataturk started to think about this as early as 1925 and Turkey convinced Greece, Yugoslavia and Romania and they sign a treaty in 1934 but it lived short because of changes in Romania`s foreign policy shortly b4 WW-2 and lack of interest from Yugoslavia.


You can read here;

http://www.sosyalarastirmalar.com/ci...gerli_esra.pdf


OR from wikipedia;

Balkan Pact
Until the early 1930s, Turkey followed a modern neutral foreign policy with the West by developing joint friendship and neutrality agreements. These bilateral agreements were aligned with Mustafa Kemal's worldview. By the end of 1925, Turkey had signed fifteen joint agreements with Western states.

In the early 1930s, changes and developments in world politics required Turkey to make multilateral agreements to improve its security. Mustafa Kemal strongly believed that a close cooperation between the Balkan states based on the principle of equality would have an important effect on European politics. These states had been ruled by the Ottoman Empire for centuries, and had formed a powerful force. While the origins of the Balkan agreement may date back as far as 1925, the Balkan Pact came to being in the mid-1930s. Several important developments in the Balkan Peninsula and in Europe helped the original idea to materialize. In inter-Balkan relations, improvements in the Turkish-Greek alliance and the rapprochement between Bulgaria and Yugoslavia are worth mentioning.

The Balkan Pact was negotiated by Mustafa Kemal with Greece, Romania, and Yugoslavia. This mutual-defence agreement intended to guarantee the signatories' territorial integrity and political independence against attack by another Balkan state such as Bulgaria or Albania. It countered the increasingly aggressive foreign policy of fascist Italy and the effect of a potential Bulgarian alignment with Nazi Germany. He thought of the Balkan Pact as a medium of balance in the relations with the European countries.[93] Mustafa Kemal was particularly anxious to establish a region of security and alliances in the west of Turkey and in Balkan Europe, which would extend as far as Dobruja.[94]

The Balkan Pact provided for regular military and diplomatic consultations. It was regarded as a significant step forward in consolidating the free world's position in southeast Europe, although it contained no specific military commitments. The importance of the agreement was best displayed in the message which Atatürk sent to the Greek Premier, Ioannis Metaxas:

“The borders of the allies in the Balkan Pact are a single border. Those who covet this border will encounter the burning beams of the sun. I recommend avoiding this. The forces that defend our borders are a single and inseparable force.[95]”

It was signed by GNA on 28 Feb. The Greek and Yugoslav Parliaments ratified the agreement a few days after. The unanimously ratified Balkan pact became a reality on 18 May 1935 and lasted until 1940.

The Balkan Pact turned out to be an ineffective organization for reasons that were beyond Atatürk’s control. What he wanted to prevent with the Balkan Pact was realized by Bulgaria’s attempt to put the Dobruja issue into the agenda after a series of international events ended with the Italian invasion of Albania on 7 April 1939. These conflicts spread rapidly, ending with World War II. The goal of Atatürk, to protect southeast Europe, failed with the dissolution of the pact. The only state which arose intact after the war was Atatürk's Republic of Turkey.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa...rk#Balkan_Pact

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkan_Pact

Ataturk also wanted to create a Balkan economical union at 1930s and he was negotiating this idea of him with the all other Balkan leaders;

...
Had Turkey's President, Mustafa the Excellent, wished royal guests for Turkey's birthday party he might easily have had them. All the little lands of Eastern Europe have now awakened to the new importance of Young Turkey. Within the last few months President Kemal has been host to King Alexander and Queen Marie of Jugoslavia, Premier Tsaldaris of Greece and Premier Combos of Hungary. All came for preliminary talks looking toward realization of Kemal's plan for a Balkan Federation economically uniting Turkey, Greece, Rumania, Jugoslavia and Bulgaria. But against this proposal is the French counterplan for a Danubian Federation of Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Rumania, Jugoslavia and Bulgaria. Today Turkey, not yet sure of the new Balkan friends she has been making, still cleaves to Russia, until recently her only friend.
...

Nov. 06, 1933

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...#ixzz10DL7SEAS

...
The Soviet War Minister Kliment Voroshilov was invited to the tenth year celebrations by Mustafa Kemal.[81] Kemal explained his position regarding the realization of his plan for a Balkan Federation economically uniting Turkey, Greece, Romania, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. The visit was historically important, as no member of the Politburo or Steering Committee of Moscow's ruling Communist Party had ventured outside the Soviet Union since it was founded.[81]


Exchanges on the concept of a Balkan Federation during the visit of Voroshilov, a vision of Kemal's which was never achieved.
...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa...k#Soviet_Union