"EU needs Turkey as world's power shifts East"

World power is shifting towards the East and the EU should admit Turkey if it wants to remain a global player, Turkey's President Abdullah Gul said on Monday.

"Given the fact that the 'international balance of power' tends to shift towards the East and Asia, it is, indeed, a strategic imperative for the EU to have Turkey as a member," Gul said.

"It is sad to observe that some European leaders do not properly see the future of the world in the span of 20, 50, 70 years' time," he said.

"This short-sighted vision is the major impediment before the idea of the EU as a global actor, capable of assuming greater responsibilities on political and security issues complementing its economic clout."


/World Bulletin/