Turkish
Minister walks out of conference in bid to protest Israeli president.
Turkey's European Union
Affairs Minister Egemen Bagıs walked out of an international conference in
Ukraine on Friday when Israeli President Shimon Peres was about to take the
stage for a speech.
Bagıs, who is in Ukraine to
attend the eighth annual Yalta gathering with
the theme of "Ukraine
and the World: Common Challenges, Common Future," left the meeting hall shortly
before Peres began addressing the participants.
The meeting at the historical Livadia
Palace started with
opening remarks by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Bagıs listened to
Yanukovych, but left the conference hall when Peres was invited to the stage
and refused to listen to his speech.