Prevention of double taxation will also be discussed. Inonu, who will be Syanko's guest, is also due to meet with Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko. Inonu's visit to Minsk will be the first trip of a Turkish foreign minister to the former Soviet republic of Belarus, which became independent in late 1991. Syanko visited Ankara last year. Turkey's role, within the framework of the Balkans, Caucasia, the Middle East and Central Asia is more important today.
Turkey is the only country in the alliance in which the majority of the population is Muslim.
Claes noted that the importance of Turkey's role was seen by its contributions to Deny Flight and Sharp Guard operations in Yugoslavia. The Ankara government's stance toward the Chechnya crisis and its role in the expansion of NATO also reflect Turkey's key position, Claes said. We are concerned about this tension and its repercussions. This tension should be eased. Claes noted that he has started a string of initiatives in order to find solutions to the problems in the NATO Southern Europe Command, problems which stem from the Greece-Turkey tension, but so far there has been no resolution.