Britain’s Prince Charles backs Turkey’s EU bid

The Prince’s comments were made during a ceremony in Istanbul to mark the reopening of the British consulate, which had been closed since being badly damaged in a suicide bombing attack on November 20 last year. Fifteen people, including consul general Roger Short were killed in the blast.
The Prince said that the attack, carried out by a radical Islamist group linked to the Al Qaeda terrorist organisation, had strengthened the ties between the UK and Turkey.
“Far from sowing division between us, those who planned these murderous attacks simply brought us together — Briton and Turk, Muslim, Jew and Christian,” Charles said.
Later in the day, the Prince flew to Ankara to meet with President Ahment Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
On Monday night, Charles attended a formal dinner hosted by Erdogan, during which the Prime Minister suggested that the Prince, who owns an organic farming company, should invest in Turkey.
On Tuesday, the Prince will be flying to Mardin in the south east of Turkey before travelling on to Jordan.