Diplomatic advance by marriage
Güncelleme Tarihi:
ISTANBUL - While Turkey’s problems with Greece and Greek Cyprus are on the European Union’s agenda, a decision by the Turkish Foreign Ministry has paved the way for Turkish diplomats to marry Greek nationals, daily Hürriyet reported yesterday.
Cengiz Fırat, a diplomat who also worked on the European Council, met Viki, a Greek citizen working at the Greek embassy in Paris. When Fırat was transferred to the EU department of the Foreign Ministry in Ankara last summer, Viki followed him and left her career.
A Turkish diplomat has to pass a strict assessment, including an investigation by the National Intelligence Organization, or MIT, to marry a foreigner. Although there have been diplomats who have married foreigners before, Fırat would be the first Turkish diplomat to apply to marry a foreigner of Greek nationality, a country high on the list of those threatening Turkey's national interests.
Moreover, the marriage could negatively affect Fırat’s diplomatic career. Despite this, he officially applied to the Foreign Ministry last fall to marry Viki and permission arrived three months after the necessary inquiries were made. This is a first in Turkish history, a country where 25 years ago a diplomat who had a Greek girlfriend was not even promoted, according to a Turkish diplomat.