ERDOGAN: "OPPOSITION PARTIES SHOULD NAME THEIR PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES"
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the weekend attended the opening ceremony for a road connecting Bornova and Karsiyaka in Izmir. Speaking at the ceremony, Erdogan said that he was happy to cut the ribbon on facilities which will make important contributions to the Aegean region and Izmir. Touching on May's presidential election, he said the opposition parties should name their presidential candidates. "No one should expect us to produce an economic plan with an eye on the upcoming (November) general elections," he said. Erdogan charged that the opposition political parties have done whatever they could over the last three years to slow down the workings of Parliament, adding, "But they realized how determined we are and gave up trying to pressure us to call early elections." /Star/

GUL GIVES MESSAGES ON IRAQ BEFORE LEAVING FOR WASHINGTON
Speaking yesterday before leaving for Washington to pay a six-day official visit, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said that he hoped his trip would help to improve cooperation between the two allies within the Turkish-US common vision document. Asked about Iraq, Gul stated that the problems of the country are continuing. "This shows that our concerns about the country were well-founded," said Gul. "Kurds, Turkmens, Arabs, Sunnis, and Shiites should try to find ways to coexist." /Aksam/

BAYKAL: "A TWO-STATE CYPRUS HAS BECOME INEVITABLE"
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said yesterday that hopes ended for a united Cypriot republic following the recent initiative of the Greek Cypriot administration to find oil in the Mediterranean. In a written statement, Baykal said that the real reason for this initiative was to end Turkey's exclusive economic zone in the Mediterranean. He further stressed that there was no hope for a resolution under a single state. "A two-state Cyprus on the island has become inevitable," added Baykal. /Turkiye/

DYP'S AGAR: "FAR FROM DIVIDING THE COUNTRY, TURKEY'S NATIONALISM ENRICHES AND DEVELOPS IT"
Opposition True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar over the weekend attended a ceremony in Istanbul. Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Agar said that Turkey's nationalism was a nationalism which doesn't divide the country but on the contrary enriches and develops it. "This understanding champions the indivisibility of our country and the unchangeability of its borders," added Agar. /Turkiye/

ATALAY HOLDS OFFICIAL CONTACTS IN OMAN
State Minister Besir Atalay, currently in Oman, yesterday met with Omani Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahad bin Mahmoud Al Said and Industry and Trade Minister Maqbool bin Ali Sultan. During their meeting, Sultan stated that they wanted to develop bilateral ties with Turkey in all areas, adding that joint investments should be given priority. For his part, Atalay said that improving relations between investors from the two countries was important, calling on Omani businessmen to invest in Turkey. Later, Atalay met with Omani Transportation and Communication Minister Sheikh Mohammed, Tourism Minister Rajiha Bint Abdul Amir and Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi. /Hurriyet/

TURKEY SET TO SELL ELECTRICITY TO GREECE
A new page is opening in Turkish-Greek relations with the selling of electricity. Greece wants to buy one billion kilowatt-hours of electricity from Turkey annually. Turkey has started laying the technical groundwork for the exports. Top officials of Greece's electricity company came to Turkey last month as the official guests of the Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation (TEIAS). Greek authorities stated officially that they wanted to buy electricity from Turkey this year. Officials from the Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Ministry said that Greece's request for electricity was being evaluated. "The most important component of selling electricity to Greece is Turkey's balance of supply and demand," said one official. "But one part of the unused capacity of the Hamitabat, Kirklareli natural gas power station could be allocated to Greece." /Sabah/