Turkey's foreign minister and its chief negotiator for EU talks met in Ankara on Thursday to discuss the country’s membership bid.

These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on Dec. 23, 2009.

Turkish Cypriot President Mehmet Ali Talat has pinned all his hopes for reelection in the presidential elections on the continued support from the Justice and Development Party government and on achieving a resolution to the Cyprus problem

We are arguing about Patriarch Bartholomew's latest statement. To tell the truth, it couldn't have been more effective or outstanding.

The patriarch's comments about being "second class" were proven further by the foreign minister, who took it upon himself to comment on a Turk's comments.

These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on Dec. 22, 2009. The Hürriyet Daily News does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy

Turkey having good relations with both East and West is not mutually exclusive. Rather, its geostrategic position makes it a must for the country to have multidimensional policies.

A final agreement to answer the visa quest between Turkey and the European Union seems to be far away. Contrary to optimistic remarks from the government, three obstacles are at standstill: the readmission agreement, biometric passports and visa exemptions with third countries including Syria, Jordan and Iran.

Greece hit back Sunday at Turkey's criticism of the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians for saying that minority Greeks in Turkey are treated like second-class citizens and feel 'crucified sometimes.'

Turkey opened the environment negotiation chapter in its bid to gain full membership in the European Union, bringing the total of open chapters to 12 out of 35.

In a different atmosphere, we could have seen the interview with the patriarch as a tourism documentary. But we have a heavy burden on our shoulders.

Turkey expresses 'deep disappointment' over the mounting opposition from the EU member Greek Cyprus against its entry.

Turkey has said it is awaiting clarification from Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew after he said he feels 'crucified' and 'second class' in the country.

'The democratic opening is a real cornerstone in Turkey,' says Ambassador Joan Clos from Spain, the next term president of the European Union. Clos, however, says, 'We should separate terror and normal democratic political fights' when it came to the remarks in favor of imprisoned terrorist leader Abdullah Öcalan

These are some of the major headlines and their summaries in Turkish press on Dec. 20, 2009. The Hürriyet Daily News does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on Saturday criticized as unacceptable remarks by the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians that he feels 'crucified' and 'second class' living in Turkey.

This year, the occasion is a different "crucifixion" – the statement by Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew that by living in Turkey he feels a person "daily crucified."

As the government plans to re-open the Halki seminary in early 2010, Ankara has been shaken by remarks from Patriarch Bartholomew, who says he feels 'crucified' and 'second class' living in Turkey. One Greek-Turk says it is 'a misunderstanding due to a lack of translation' while the foreign minister says 'the crucifixion simile is extremely unfortunate'

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu urged the European Union to introduce visa-free travel for Turkish citizens after noting that Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia have been granted the privilege.

Turkish, Iraqi and U.S. officials on Sunday conveyed the scope of the three-party mechanism to eliminate the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.