"Turkey's two directions
Turkey's efforts towards EU accession continue to be stymied, in turn pushing Ankara to engage its southern sphere, writes Mustafa El-Labbad*
Turkey's EU candidacy has once again topped the agenda of the EU executive branch. On 21 April in Prague, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan met with his Czech counterpart, Karel Schwarzenberg, in his capacity as serving EU president to discuss progress on Turkey's accession. But apart from handshakes and smiles and commemorative photographs, the gap between the two sides appears as difficult to bridge as ever, 22 years since Turkey first applied for EU membership. Naturally, Ankara will keep trying and will probably continue to check its anger against European stubbornness; however, in the meantime it will probably set its sights on closer involvement in the Middle East and the Caucasus."
More:Al-Ahram Weekly | Opinion | Turkey's two directions