ANKARA (AA) - July 24, 2012 - The Turkish minister for EU affairs has said Anadolu Agency's (AA) Russian edition would contribute to Turkey's EU membership process.
"Russian is still a very effective language in former states of the Soviet Union which are now EU members. AA's broadcasts in Russian can bring significant contribution to our EU process. Therefore, I would like to congratulate the masterminds and implementers of this idea," said EU Minister & Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis, commenting on AA's launching test broadcasts in Russian language.
Bagis said that AA had turned into a globally influential news agency and news network thanks to its new projects.
"AA's launching a Russian service is very meaningful. Russian is a language spread over a wide geography, spoken in many parts of Europe and Asia. When we look at these regions, we can see that they are energy-rich countries with which Turkey has to revive its relations during the next 100 years," he said.
The minister noted that AA's broadcasts in Russian would raise Turkish people's interest in this language, moreover, Turkish youth's eagerness to learn Russian could turn into a significant potential for Turkey's future.
"I even encourage my children to learn Russian. I tell them that, thanks to Russian, they can always gain certain advantages in a wide market," Bagis said.
AA began test broadcasts in Russian language on July 17. Russian broadcast will be conducted from AA's Caucasus Regional Directorate in Baku, Azerbaijan.
AA targets to make broadcasts in 11 languages within the scope of its centennial vision. Earlier this year, the agency began broadcasting news in Bosnian and Arabic.
