ERDOGAN OPPOSES CALLS FOR EARLY ELECTIONS
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday criticized recent calls to hold general elections next April in advance of May's presidential election. He said that early general elections would harm the country, and the current Parliament would elect the new president. Stressing that the government had no complaints and was determined to hold elections as scheduled, Erdogan said that his government had undertaken rule for five years and would complete its term in office. He also called on everybody to obey the Constitution. /Turkiye/

TAN: "THE EU'S DECISION ISN'T THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS"
Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan said yesterday that Ankara does not see the decision made by the European Union foreign ministers on Monday set to be taken up at today's EU leaders summit as the lesser of two evils, adding that it wasn't a fair decision. Reiterating Turkey's determination not to open its ports and airports to Greek Cyprus before the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots is eased, Tan said, "The EU has once again acted timidly on the Cyprus issue." Pointing to the EU's failure to declare that a settlement of the Cyprus issue should be found under the auspices of the United Nations as well as its postponement to January of deciding whether to lift the embargo from the TRNC, he added, "The EU could take concrete steps on the issue during its General Affairs Council meeting rather than leaving it to next month. We're waiting for steps to be taken by the EU." /Sabah/

DYP'S AGAR URGES EARLY ELECTIONS NEXT SPRING
True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar said yesterday that general elections next spring didn't mean early elections but rather ones held on time. Stressing that it was too late to amend the Constitution to lower the 10 percent election threshold, Agar added, however, that general elections should be held in April, because the public favors this rather than November, when they are scheduled. /Turkiye/

EU LEADERS TO MEET IN BRUSSELS TODAY
European Union leaders will convene today in Brussels. The summit will not officially take up Turkey's EU membership process, but leaders are expected to approve the decision made this Monday by the EU foreign ministers. Speaking to reporters, EU Term President Finland's Premier Matti Vanhanen said that as the Turkish issue had been resolved, the EU leaders could discuss other topics on their plate. Calling Turkey the most critical issue during Finland's soon-to-end term presidency, Vanhanen stated that he expected Ankara to accelerate on its path to the EU following elections in Turkey next year. /Milliyet/

BLAIR TO VISIT TURKEY
British Prime Minister Tony Blair will visit Ankara tomorrow just after participating in the European Union summit in Brussels. Blair, now lobbying for Turkey during the EU summit, is expected to discuss with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recent developments on Turkey's EU bid and the Middle East prior to his tour of the region. /Hurriyet/

REHN: "THE EU GAVE A CLEAR MESSAGE TO TURKEY"
European Union Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn yesterday said that the EU had given a clear message to Turkey by partially freezing its membership negotiations. Speaking to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Rehn said that the EU foreign ministers' decision was a good one and added, "The EU has showed that it can find a solution without causing a big crisis on a sensitive issue like Turkey. This should be appreciated by everyone." Meanwhile, EU Term President Finland's Foreign Trade Minister Paula Lehtomaki said that Finland had done its utmost to prevent any interruption of Turkey's negotiations. In related news, EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Commission Co-Chair Joost Lagendijk praised the prospect of the EU ministers' reviewing lifting the embargo on the Turkish Cypriots next spring. /Cumhuriyet/

WASHINGTON BEGINS CAMPAIGN AGAINST TERRORIST PKK IN EUROPE
Frank Urbancic, the US State Department's principal assistant coordinator for counter terrorism, yesterday said that the US has started a campaign to cut off the financial resources of the terrorist PKK. Stating that he and Doug Silliman, the department's director of the US Office of Southern European Affairs, had suggested to European countries that the terrorist activities of the PKK shouldn't be facilitated, he added, "The death of a single Turkish citizen in southeastern Anatolia is no different for us than the death of an American citizen in Izmir or California due to terrorist attacks." Meanwhile, US Assistant Defense Secretary Peter Rodman, after his contacts in Ankara, said, "We want to be a reliable ally of Turkey. Therefore, we're trying to give appropriate responses to the concerns of Ankara." /Star/

TURKEY FOREGOES EUROFIGHTER FOR F-35s
Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said yesterday that due to the Greek Cypriot administration's negative stance against Turkey, the Defense Industry Executive Committee had decided to get F-35 planes rather than Eurofighter's Typhoon plane for a $10 billion next generation warplane project. Stressing that the Eurofighter is a product of EU countries, Gonul said Turkey couldn't be a member of the European Defense Agency (EDA) as a result of a veto by Greek Cyprus. "This has become a very important factor," Gonul added. "We have no idea how to participate in EU projects as we're not a member of the EDA." /Turkiye/