Turkey's EU minister receives Dutch official

ANKARA (A.A) – Turkey's EU Minister Egemen Bagis received Rene van der Linden, head of Dutch party of the Advisory Board of the 400. anniversary of the diplomatic ties between Turkey and the Netherlands, in Ankara on Monday. Bagis said that Linden and he would host many events together in 2012 and 2013 within the scope of the 400. anniversary of the diplomatic ties between Turkey and the Netherlands. Replying a question about his views regarding France's initiative to make denial of Armenian allegations on 1915 incidents a crime in the general of the EU, Bagis said that decisions were made unanimously in the EU. I don't think that all 27 EU countries would approve such nonsense, said Bagis, adding that there were many friendly EU countries which understood the importance of Turkey's presence in the EU. Meanwhile, Linden said that Turkey's being a member of the EU was for the interest of both Turkey and the EU. Linden expressed hope that friendship and political relations between Turkey and the Netherlands would further develop this year.