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Turkish Press Review, 06-05-09Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr><LINK href="http://www.byegm.gov.tr_yayinlarimiz_chr_pics_css/tpr.css" rel=STYLESHEET type=text/css> <style type="text_css"> <!-- .baslik { margin-right:0cm; margin-left:0cm; margin-top:1cm; font-size:12.0pt; color:#000099; text-align: justify; } --> <_style> e-mail : newspot@byegm.gov.tr <caption> <_caption> Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning09.05.2006FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...CONTENTS
[01] ERDOGAN, GUL MEET WITH IRAN’S LARIJANI TO URGE COMPLIANCE ON NUCLEAR PROGRAMAli Larijani, the secretary general of Iran’s National Security Council and the country’s chief nuclear negotiator, currently in Ankara for an official visit, yesterday met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, and National Security Council (NSC) Secretary- General Yigit Alpogan to discuss a number of issues, including Iran’s nuclear program. During their meeting, Gul said that Ankara was concerned about the program, adding that tension was rising over the issue. “First you have to persuade the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),” said Gul. He added that Tehran should accept the alternative mechanism proposals of countries such as Russia. For his part, Larijani claimed that there were efforts to prevent Muslim countries from possessing nuclear technology, adding that Iran didn’t have any military aims. “We cooperated constructively with the IAEA and allowed the inspection of our facilities,” he said. Stressing that Turkey was an influential country in the region, Larijani said that Ankara could help Iran prove its good will. Later, Larijani met with Erdogan. During their meeting, Erdogan said that Iran had the right to obtain nuclear energy with peaceful goals just like any other country, but that this should be done “transparently.” Larijani stated that Iran wanted a diplomatic solution. “We want nuclear energy with peaceful goals and are working to be transparent,” he added. In related news, Erdogan is due to travel to Austria tomorrow to attend a summit of European Union heads of states and governments. During his stay in the country, Erdogan is due to meet with his Austrian counterpart Wolfgang Schussel. /Sabah/[02] TURKEY RECALLS AMBASSADORS TO FRANCE, CANADAReacting sharply to Canada’s recognizing the so-called Armenian genocide and the French Parliament’s possible approval of a bill criminalizing “genocide” denial. Turkey has recalled Ambassador to France Osman Koruturk as well as Turkey’s Ambassador to Canada Aydemir Erman. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Namik Tan yesterday stated that the both ambassadors have been recalled for a short time for consultations about the recent developments. /Star/[03] IRAQI PRESIDENT TALABANI: “WASHINGTON WON’T LET ANKARA LAUNCH CROSS- BORDER OPERATIONS INTO IRAQ”Iraqi President Jalal Talabani claimed over the weekend that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had assured Iraqi officials that Washington won’t let Ankara launch cross-border operations into Iraq. According to Kurd-Sat Television, at a press conference on Saturday the Kurdish leader said that at this point, a withdrawal of US-led forces from Iraq would be a mistake since it would increase the possibility of an outbreak of a civil war between the country’s ethnic and religious groups. However, Talabani stated that a partition of Iraq was a remote possibility. He said the reality is that there are no more obstacles on the road to establishing a new Iraqi government. He also expressed the political will to attain democracy and freedom in Iraq. /Cumhuriyet/[04] ISRAELI FM TO VISIT TURKEYIsraeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will make his first visit abroad to Ankara after the establishment of the new cabinet. According to diplomatic sources, the visit could come as early as next week. Hamas and Turkey’s role in the region will be most important issues of the visit. Also touching on President Ahmet Necdet Sezer’s visit to Israeli set for next month, a diplomatic source said, “The foreign minister’s visiting Ankara prior to the visit of President Sezer will help to improve relations.” /Cumhuriyet/[05] ANKARA APPLAUDS WITHDRAWAL OF US REQUEST FOR BLACK SEA PRESENCETurkish officials on Monday praised the US’ decision to withdraw its proposal to extend NATO’s ongoing Operation Active Endeavor in the Mediterranean to include the Black Sea. “Washington’s decision to back- pedal on their request to extend the NATO operation was made after taking Turkey’s concerns into consideration since it would have undermined the principles of the Montreaux Convention. The US’ move will contribute to Turkish-US relations,” a Turkish official said, applauding the move. US officials conveyed their intention to drop the suggestion to Turkish officials late Sunday. The decision came as a result of attempts by Turkish officials to persuade their US counterparts to backtrack by saying that the Montreaux Convention, signed in 1936, limits the activities of foreign warships in the Black Sea and in the Straits. /The New Anatolian/[06] EU COMMISSION REPORT PRAISES TURKEY’S ECONOMY FOR 2006-2007A new report published by the European Union Commission expresses positive remarks on Turkey’s economy for 2006-2007. Stressing sound growth in the economy and strengthening macroeconomic stability, the report did caution that next year’s scheduled elections could affect public outlays. The report stated that Turkey’s exports are expected to rise further. Despite pressure due to high oil prices, inflation will fall as a result of tight monetary policy, predicted the commission report. The report further predicted that growth would be 5.8% by the end of this year and 5.5% next year. /Milliyet/[07] BABACAN: “OUR IMF STANDBY AGREEMENT RUNS THROUGH MAY 2008”State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan said yesterday that Turkey’s debt to the International Monetary Fund, had fallen from $23.5 billion to $11.8 billion as of Friday. He stated that the government hadn’t yet made a decision on early debt payment. He said Turkey’s IMF agreement signed runs through till May 2008 and that it was very important for the country’s mid- term economic performance. Babacan stated that there was an important reform agenda ahead to improve Turkey’s investment climate, adding that one of the issues set to be addressed was the “administrative judiciary.” Babacan added that Turkey’s long-term development wasn’t dependent on the IMF or the World Bank but on foreign direct investment (FDI), predicting that Turkey would attract more FDI this year. /Aksam/[08] 9TH EURASIA ECONOMY SUMMIT HELD IN ISTANBULThe 9th Eurasia Economy summit was held in Istanbul yesterday with the participation of ministers, deputies, and representatives from business commitments of 30 countries. Addressing the gathering, former President Suleyman Demirel said that there were 442 nuclear plants worldwide, adding that he hoped Turkey would also build one of these plants. “But we’re late, ” he said. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer also sent a message to the conference, saying that the Eurasia region continued to attract interest with its natural resources and economic development opportunities. He added that boosting cooperation between the regional countries would also contribute to all Eurasian countries. /Turkiye/[09] FROM THE COLUMNS...FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...[10] DANGEROUS DEVELOPMENTS BY GUNDUZ AKTAN (TURKISH DAILY NEWS)Columnist Gunduz Aktan comments on policies developed for Iraq. A summary of his column is as follows:“In a quest editoral in last Friday’s (May 4) issue of the International Herald Tribune, Democratic Sen. Joseph Biden and foreign policy analyst Leslie H. Gelb advocated a ‘third option’ for the United States, the first two options being staying the course in Iraq and the prompt withdrawal of all US troops. They suggested the partition of Iraq into three regions. The central government would be in charge of foreign policy, defense and distribution of oil revenues, while all the other powers of the state would be handed over to the proposed three regions. The article cites Bosnia and Herzegovina as an example. However, the situation in Iraq is not similar to the situation that existed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There, the Serbs of Bosnia and Serbia had initiated a civil war, and only after the US conducted a military intervention and defeated the Serbs. On the other hand, in Iraq, the civil war began as a result of US military intervention. In fact, Biden and Gelb are suggesting this new option on the grounds that efforts to halt the civil war have failed and that Iraq is already caught in a process of disintegration. Basically, what they are suggesting is a new, loose federation for Iraq. Since a fresh referendum does not seem possible, it is not clear how the arrangement sought by the authors could be brought about. Supposing it materializes, as the next step, a regional conference would be held under UN auspices and a non-aggression pact would be signed with Iraq’s neighbors, thus guaranteeing Iraq’s territorial integrity and its new domestic regime. In other words, the independence of the Kurds would gain and the incorporation of Kirkuk into their region would be protected against the vital interests of Turkey, Iran and Syria by having these countries sign the proposed pact. Is this really plausible? Afterwards, the US would keep some troops in Iraq – quite possibly in the Kurdish region ‘to fight terrorism and ensure that Iraq’s neighbors respect new regime in Iraq.’ The aim of the US military intervention was to bring about democracy in Iraq. All the UN resolutions on Iraq started with a reference to the need to preserve Iraq’s territorial integrity. How can a UN non-aggression pact possibly guarantee the actual partitioning of Iraq now? Would that not simply justify the claims of those who argue it has been the US’ aim all along to partition Iraq, ensure Kurdish independence and gain control of the Kirkuk oilfields? Even more serious would be the way such a development would strengthen the hand of those who have been saying that the US is basically anti-Islam. Such a development would damage Turkey’s relations with the US in such a serious way that it would not be possible to repair them for a long time. That would distance Turkey from the West far more than the impasse in its EU accession process ever could. For the first time the ‘Russia and Iran’ option would gain credence. It would no longer be likely that Turkey would cooperate with the West to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb. The dangerous consequences of having rejected the March 1, 2003 resolution (to allow US troops on Turkish soil before the Iraqi invasion) are becoming apparent. Turkey might be able to halt this development if, without any delay, it were to convene a regional conference through the Organization of the Islamic conference (OIC) and made a serious efforts to ensure the territorial integrity and political unity of Iraq. In this context Turkey should contact both Sunni and Shiite Arabs and seek ways of creating an OIC peace keeping force. Meanwhile, efforts should begin to bring the Turkmen, who would no longer have a future in Iraq, to Turkey.” ARCHIVE <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="http:/_www.byegm.gov.tr_statistic/countcode.js"> </script> Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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