A quick trip from Mr. Cem

Today, Mr. Ismail Cem, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, whose scheduled meetings never gains certainty due to the busy traffic both in Ankara and Washington, has squeezed in a trip to the USA today.
Mr. Cem's desire to meet the US officials prior to Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz's meeting in Washington in two weeks has already been known. During his talks with the officials before the summit between the USA and the European Union, he is expected to take up the issue of "integration of Turkey into the Western world," which carries a paramount importance for Turkey.
The Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister is scheduled to meet Ms. Madeleine Albright, his US counterpart, on December 4. As well, Mr. Cem is planning to get together with Mr. Federico Pena, the Secretary of the Department of Energy. However, the US side has already warned Ankara that Ms. Albright has a very loaded schedule, travelling first to Brussels on December 5, and following that to African states, and that "the appointments are not officially confirmed to avoid any embrassment in case there is a change."
Concentrating on Turkey's relations with the EU, Cyprus, Aegean Sea and natural gas, and petrol, Mr. Cem's agenda in US is kept limited to avoid overlapping with that of Mr. Yilmaz, the Prime Minister. The Turkish diplomats state that Mr. Cem's visit concentrates more on the concern that the process of Turkish integration into the EU is not interrupted and that the support from the US to transport petrol from the Hazar Sea to the West through the Baku - Ceyhan pipeline, rather than through the other alternative routes, is confirmed and strengthened.