SEZER TRAVELING TO MOSCOW
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer will travel to Russia, Moscow today for Turkey's first presidential visit there since the foundation of the Russian Federation. During his stay in Moscow, Sezer is expected to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin to discuss bilateral political relations besides cooperation between the two countries in the economy and energy, plus the Cyprus issue, Iran, and the terrorist PKK. Sezer's visit is expected to further develop Turkish-Russian relations, which have recently gained momentum. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will accompany Sezer. /Milliyet/
ERDOGAN LAYS TO REST HIS ELDER BROTHER
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday attended the funeral of his elder brother Hasan Erdogan, who died on Monday. Erdogan was laid to rest in the town of Guneysu in Rize with the attendance of a number of Cabinet ministers, businessmen and politicians, including True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar, as well as a large crowd of people. /Turkiye/
GUL: "WE'RE WORKING FOR A SETTLEMENT TO THE IRAN ISSUE"
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday traveled to Moscow, Russia to attend the Paris Pact meeting. Before his departure, Gul told reporters at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport that Ankara was making efforts for a peaceful settlement to the international dispute over Iran's nuclear program. Stressing that Turkey and Iran were two neighboring countries, Gul said that Turkey's interest in the matter was normal. "Our efforts aim to ease finding a resolution to the issue," said the foreign minister. Commenting on Rahsan Ecevit's ongoing tour to political party leaders to form a coalition against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Gul said that Turkey was a democratic country which allows all political activities. Stating that everybody was following the developments with keen interest, Gul underlined that the final decision would be made by the citizens. In addition, Gul said that he would share impressions from his recent visit to Tehran with Russian officials. /Turkiye/
RAHSAN ECEVIT CONTINUES TOUR FOR UNITY AGAINST AKP
As part of her efforts to form a coalition between political parties for next year's general elections against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Rahsan Ecevit, former deputy leader of the Democratic Leftist Party (DSP) and wife of ailing former Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, yesterday visited main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) headquarters in Ankara to meet with CHP leader Deniz Baykal. During the one-and-a-half-hour talk, Baykal reportedly offered to merge with the DSP, while Ecevit asked for establishment of a front defending the values of the republic against the AKP. /Aksam/
BAHCELI RULES OUT PARTICIPATION IN COALITION AGAINST AKP
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli, in a written statement, said yesterday that efforts to bring political parties together against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) would only serve to strengthen it. Claiming that political parties unsure of their strength had initiated a movement to form a new establishment and coalition, Bahceli said that the MHP would not take part in those efforts. He declared that the MHP was the sole alternative to the ruling power. /Aksam/
ISRAEL SEEKS TURKISH SUPPORT FOR ABDUCTED SOLDIER
While the crisis caused by Palestinian militants' abducting an Israeli soldier raises tensions, the US has called on Israel to give a chance to diplomacy. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni called her Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul to ask for Ankara's assistance in finding and rescuing the Israeli soldier. Following this request, Gul telephoned Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to urge him to find a solution to the abduction crisis and to prevent a further escalation. During the conversation Haniyeh expressed his government's determination to secure stability and peace in the region, adding that although the Palestinian administration is trying to solve its problems with Israel through diplomacy, Israel's threat to invade the Gaza Strip is creating obstacles to the process. /Star/
US AMBASSADOR WILSON: "I'M NOT PERSUADED THAT THE US HAS DONE ITS BEST TO COMBAT THE PKK"
US Ambassador to Turkey Ross Wilson, visiting Izmir yesterday to attend July 4 celebrations, spoke about Turkish-US relations. "Turkish-US relations have improved significantly since last year," he said. "This development was reflected in a series of high-level visits, including one by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice." "There are certainly many issues that we should work on," added Wilson. "I'm not fully persuaded that the US has done its best to help Turkey in combating the PKK. We've made some progress, but still we've got more to do." /Star/
TURKISH SOLDIERS TO GO TO CONGO AS PART OF MULTINATIONAL FORCE
Turkish soldiers will to the Democratic Republic of Congo next month to support the multinational force which will be on duty during the first democratic elections since it gained independence. A motion on this sent by the government on June 20 was approved by Parliament, and so Turkish soldiers will be deployed in Congo, following a string of deployments since 1950 in Korea, Bosnia, Kosovo, Hebron, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and East Timor. /Cumhuriyet/
FINNISH PRESIDENT: "TURKEY'S ROAD TO THE EU IS ROCKIER"
Incoming European Union Term President Finland's President Tarja Halonen yesterday said, "Turkey's road to the EU is rockier in comparison with other candidate countries." Halonen, currently in Austria, told a press conference alongside his Austrian counterpart Heinz Fisher, "The Copenhagen criteria apply to all countries who want to be EU members, and these criteria should suffice for membership. But Turkey has different problems. So Turkey's road to the EU is rockier than others." Finland will become EU president for six months beginning Saturday. /Cumhuriyet/
AL-QAEDA THREATENS TURKEY
Ayman el-Zawahiri, the number two figure in terrorist group al-Qaeda, is saying Turkey is a target for allegedly "distorting Islam." Zawahiri, in a new video shown last week on Arab news channel Al Jazeera, said that the US administration was distorting Islam in order to form groups loyal to them. El Zawahiri criticized the secular structure in Turkey and said that Turkey constituted an example of this. Zawahiri said that Turkey was being governed by groups which couldn't dare to implement Sharia law. He also criticized Turkey for recognizing Israel and permitting US bases and called on Muslims to continue their resistance. /Cumhuriyet/
WB'S VORKINK: "WE DON'T EXPECT A CRISIS IN TURKEY IN THE SHORT OR MID TERM"
Speaking to English-language daily The New Anatolian on Monday, World Bank's Turkey Representative Andrew Vorkink evaluated recent economic developments, saying that he didn't expect a crisis in Turkey in the short or mid term. Vorkink praised the ability of the Central Bank and the government to make adjustments in light of global and domestic developments, saying that as the CB was determined to control inflation it could raise interest rates. Saying that the CB's interest hike decision was the best answer to speculation about the independence of the CB, Vorkink stated that monetary policy and rate hikes were important tools in controlling inflation. He stressed that the economy had the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) operating independently, adding that the foreign exchange positions of the banks were sound. Vorkink stated that he didn't think that next year's general elections would create a radical change in basic economic policies. Saying that Ankara's economic policy was in line with the European Union's, Vorkink added that investors would be interested in the reform process of Turkey during its negotiation process. /Milliyet/
CB HEAD: "TURKEY DOESN'T DESERVE THESE FLUCTUATIONS"
Addressing a conference organized by Morgan Stanley in New York yesterday, Central Bank Governor Durmus Yilmaz said that foreign investors could seek to pull out of Turkish markets, adding that he had no objection to this. "However, the Turkish economy and markets don't deserve the recent fluctuations," he said. "Fortunately, there aren't negative changes in economic indicators due to these fluctuations. The nation isn't demanding the dollar." Asked what could happen if dollar demand rose, Yilmaz said that the CB could then increase interest rates. /Hurriyet/
TBB REPORTEDLY TO CALL FOR GOVT TO REVISE MACROECONOMIC TARGETS
The Banks Association of Turkey (TBB) is reportedly expected to call for the government to revise macroeconomic targets such as inflation and growth after discussing the issue with officials from the International Monetary Fund. The TBB believes that such an act would reduce uncertainty in the economy. The TBB administration especially wants to meet with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the issue. /Milliyet/