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Turkish Press Review, 09-02-02
From: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>
Summary of the political and economic
news in the Turkish press this morning
02.02.2009
CONTENTS
[01] GUL DUE IN SAUDI ARABIA TOMORROW TO BOOST TRADE TIES
[02] ERDOGAN: "WE'LL SIGN A NEW IMF DEAL IF IT SERVES TURKEY'S INTERESTS"
[03] CHP'S BAYKAL: "THE PREMIER IS USING DAVOS AS ELECTION FODDER"
[04] 2 OPPOSITION LEADERS PRAISE ERDOGAN'S DAVOS PROTEST, BUT PUSH FOR MORE ACTION TO ISOLATE ISRAEL
[05] US STATE DEPT: "WE DON'T WANT TO SEE A REPEAT OF THE DAVOS INCIDENT"
[06] ISRAEL'S LIVNI: "WE CAN REPAIR THE DAMAGE WITH TURKEY"
[07] ADL'S FOXMAN: "WE WELCOME ERDOGAN SAYING THAT HIS CRITICISM DIDN'T TARGET THE ISRAELI PEOPLE OR JEWS"
[08] PM PRESENTS CULTURE AND ARTS AWARD TO ALTAN
[01] GUL DUE IN SAUDI ARABIA TOMORROW TO BOOST TRADE TIES
President Abdullah Gul is set to pay a three-day official visit to Saudi
Arabia starting tomorrow in a bid to improve bilateral trade ties. During
the visit, Gul, accompanied by a large business delegation, will attend
Turkish-Saudi Business Forum meetings in Jeddah and the capital Riyadh.
Turkey wants to raise the current bilateral trade volume from some $4
billion to $7 billion. With the largest petroleum reserves in the world,
Saudi Arabia will devote $36 billion to investments this year, and $620
billion by 2020. The country offers large opportunities in many areas,
particularly construction. Boosting trade with Saudi Arabia also carries
great importance as part of Turkey's efforts to diversify its foreign
markets at a time of falling demand from Europe due to the global economic
crisis. In line with this initiative, State Minister for Foreign Trade
Kursad Tuzmen recently paid official visits to Egypt and Iran. /Turkiye/
[02] ERDOGAN: "WE'LL SIGN A NEW IMF DEAL IF IT SERVES TURKEY'S INTERESTS"
Speaking in Istanbul at a ceremony marking new infrastructure investments
by the Istanbul Greater Municipality, Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised
how the investments had strengthened the city. Stating that in six years in
office, the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party had never resorted to
populism, Erdogan said all state and government officials serve the people.
Touching on talks with the International Monetary Fund, Erdogan said that
were trying to strike a deal in line with Turkey's interests. Stating that
Turkey's debt to the Fund had dropped from $26.5 billion six years ago to
$8.7 billion, he said all the government's steps would be in accordance
with Turkey's interests. He added, "Turkey is changing. All of us should
know and believe in Turkey's power." In related news, IMF First Deputy
Managing Director John Lipsky said significant progress was being made
towards a new agreement, adding that he hoped a deal would be struck soon.
Stating that Turkey's economy has developed greatly in recent years, he
said as an active member of the Fund, Turkey has strengthened its position
within the Fund. /Turkiye-Sabah/
[03] CHP'S BAYKAL: "THE PREMIER IS USING DAVOS AS ELECTION FODDER"
Though Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was treated unfairly in Davos
last week and his reaction was natural, he should stop using the incident
for political gain, said main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP)
leader Deniz Baykal yesterday. Before his party's Central Executive
Committee (MYK), he said, "The premier's problem is the local elections
(set for March). He wants to use the incident as election fodder."
/Cumhuriyet/
[04] 2 OPPOSITION LEADERS PRAISE ERDOGAN'S DAVOS PROTEST, BUT PUSH FOR MORE
ACTION TO ISOLATE ISRAEL
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's attitude in Davos last week towards
both the moderator of a panel on Gaza and Israeli President Shimon Peres
was "appropriate," said Democratic Leftist Party (DSP) leader Zeki Sezer
yesterday. Speaking at an event announcing DSP candidates for local
elections in March, he added that to be genuine, this attitude must be
followed up on. "The DSP approves of Erdogan's reaction in Davos," he said.
"It should show a response to Israel, which massacred Palestinians." Grand
Unity Party (BBP) leader Muhsin Yazicioglu also praised Erdogan's reaction
in Davos, but sounded a similar note on the need for more action, saying,
"When they stop training Israeli pilots in Konya, I will applaud them." He
added, "Turkey should have halted diplomatic contacts with Israel after it
launched its ground operation in Gaza." /Star/
[05] US STATE DEPT: "WE DON'T WANT TO SEE A REPEAT OF THE DAVOS INCIDENT"
Asked about Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's testy exchange last week
with Israeli President Simon Peres at the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland, US State Department spokesperson Robert Woods said, "It was
unfortunate. But it was a very good sign to see that President Peres and
Prime Minister Erdogan had a subsequent conversation." He added, "They had
some very sharp exchanges, and I believe that the prime minister walked out
… and that type of thing, of course, is unfortunate. You don't want to
see that happen. But again, as I said, they had a subsequent conversation,
and we're very glad to see that because, you know, Turkey and Israel are
important allies for the US. And they're key players in the region. And so
it's important that we have good cooperative relationships amongst all of
the various key players in the region, and that's how I would describe it."
In related news, Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani telephoned Erdogan
to thank him for his actions. Larijani told Erdogan that with his "bold
words" in Davos he became "the voice of the free conscience," adding that
history would remember how he defended the Palestinians. /Milliyet/
[06] ISRAEL'S LIVNI: "WE CAN REPAIR THE DAMAGE WITH TURKEY"
Israel can repair the damage after President Shimon Peres' sharp exchange
with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the World Economic Forum last
week, said Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni yesterday. In a radio
interview, she called on Turkey to show respect for Israel. "We enjoy
important strategic relations with Turkey, which is why I expect Turkey to
show respect Israel, despite the demonstrations on the street and the very
hard images aired about Gaza," said Livni. "It is possible to fix
everything, we have to talk, put things on the table, keep our common
interests as well as our differences in mind." /Aksam/
[07] ADL'S FOXMAN: "WE WELCOME ERDOGAN SAYING THAT HIS CRITICISM DIDN'T
TARGET THE ISRAELI PEOPLE OR JEWS"
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was right to say after last week's
Davos incident that his criticisms did not target the Israeli people or
Jews, leading US Jewish group the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said in a
weekend statement. "We were pleased to learn that, in an act of
statesmanship, (Israeli) President (Shimon) Peres reached out to Prime
Minister Erdogan by telephone immediately after the event to clear the air
and calm the situation," ADL Director Abraham Foxman added. /Cumhuriyet/
[08] PM PRESENTS CULTURE AND ARTS AWARD TO ALTAN
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday presented the Culture and
Tourism Ministry's High Culture and Arts Award to columnist Cetin Altan in
a ceremony held at Istanbul's Aya Irini (Hagia Eirene) Museum. Speaking at
the ceremony, Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Gunay said that as a
columnist, Altan had always supported the will of the nation and democracy.
Gunay also said Altan getting his award from Erdogan himself was very
meaningful. Also speaking at the ceremony, Erdogan praised Altan for his
efforts to strengthen Turkish democracy and stressed the importance of
freedom of expression, adding that in recent years Turkey has taken
remarkable steps to strengthen this right. /Sabah/
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