Turkish FM: Now is the time for change in Arab countries

BERLIN (A.A) - 06.06.2011 - Turkey's foreign minister said it was now time for a peaceful change and transformation in Arab countries.
"In my books I wrote 10 years ago, I said there were two anomalies in Arab world. 20th century colonialism divided Arab communities into two. Cold War era has paved the way for autocratic regimes in the region. Transformation seen in Eastern Bloc in 1990s has not happened in Arab countries. But now it is time for change," Ahmet Davutoglu told German magazine Der Spiegel.
Asked why Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to quit but he was awaiting regarding Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi, Davutoglu said: "It is because Mr. Erdogan considered Egyptian military neutral. In Libya, it was a little bit different. We have seen that the country was going towards a division and there was not a military to protect the people. We have noticed that there would be a massacre there. That's why we have tried to keep clear channels with both sides."
On Syria, Davutoglu said Syria was the most important country for the Middle East peace process. 
"It has borders with Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. In addition, unlike Libya and Tunisia, it is a multi-sectarian country. However, our criteria go for it too: there must be a political change but it must be peaceful," he said.
On Turkey's EU bid, Davutoglu said Turkey should be a member of EU because it was a part of European diplomacy, Europe needed Turkey due to strategic reasons, and Turkey was an important member of the family of democracies.
"Europe will remain as our goal that will never change," Davutoglu said. "In fact, we all need each other. By this way, we can compete with countries such as India and China. We must ask this question: Where does Europe's future lie?"