CABINET DISCUSSES MEASURES TO DEAL WITH GLOBAL WARMING
The Cabinet ministers chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan convened yesterday. Following their eight-hour meeting, Justice Minister Cemil Cicek told reporters that in addition to other topics, the issue of global warming was taken up. He said that a joint commission formed by the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Environmental and Forestry as well as Energy and Natural Resources was looking at the matter. Cicek said that the government would take all measures to reduce the threat from climate change. Stressing that the ministers had also given a briefing about their contacts abroad, Cicek also criticized the main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) stance on the upcoming presidential election. "Raising tension doesn't serve Turkey's interests," added Cicek. Speaking about recent allegations that terrorist head Abdullah Ocalan was being poisoned, Cicek said a delegation of three experts had traveled to Imrali, where Ocalan is serving a life sentence, and thoroughly examined the claim. "The Ocalan issue is irrelevant. The allegation was made to grab headlines," said Cicek. "The Turkish government doesn't condescend to such things. The lie will soon be exposed." /Turkiye-Cumhuriyet/

GUL PLANS END-OF-MONTH GREECE VISIT
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is planning to visit Greece at the end of this month upon the invitation of his Greek counterpart Dora Bakoyannis. Gul is expected to discuss the situation of the Turkish minority in Greece's Western Thrace region, an oil dispute over Greek Cypriot oil exploration in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the Cyprus issue and Turkey's European Union membership bid. /The New Anatolian/

BAYKAL: "IF THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION DOESN'T PRODUCE A MAJORITY, WE'LL APPLY TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT"
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday said that they would immediately apply to the Constitutional Court if a two-thirds majority doesn't emerge in May's presidential election. "If we apply to the Constitutional Court, chaos could ensue, and that would automatically force early elections," he said. Speaking to news channel NTV, Baykal also commented on whether Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan would run for president. Baykal mentioned the "reflexes" of the republic to protect itself. "That is why the premier leaves a door open, Turkey needs compromise, this is a must," he said. "The government should recognize this." Erdogan has vowed to hold off announcing if he is running for president until April 16, the official start of the process. /Milliyet/

WASHINGTON POST, FORMER US AMBASSADOR WARN ARMENIAN RESOLUTION COULD HARM TURKISH-US RELATIONS
The Armenian resolution alleging a "genocide" in the Ottoman Empire beginning in 1915 has the potential to "explode" US relations with Turkey, said Washington Post columnist Jackson Diehl yesterday. Criticizing the idea that the 435 members of the House of Representatives - "many of whom still don't know the difference between Iraqi Shiites and Sunnis," he said -- could decide about the events 92 years ago in northeastern Turkey, Diehl warned that the consequences of the resolution's passage that could be deadly serious. He said the situation might harm US interests regarding Turkey's strategic partnership while it has been struggling with the Iraq and Iran issues, adding that candidates in Turkey's upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections could compete on the basis of anti-American rhetoric. In related news, former US Ambassador to Turkey Mark Parris also said yesterday that the resolution was against US interests, adding that keeping Turkey as an ally would contribute the success of the US in the region. In a guest op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, Parris pointed to Incirlik Airbase's strategic importance for his country. He added that the US should give its full support to Turkey, which is going through a difficult period. /Turkiye/

NO AGREEMENT FROM MEETING ON MAHMOUR CAMP
A tripartite meeting in Geneva on the Mahmour Camp in northern Iraq ended yesterday without any agreement. High-level representatives from Turkey, Iraq and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) discussed a possible return of some 9,000 Turkish Kurdish refugees from a UN-run camp in Iraq. The United States sat at the negotiating table as an observer. The next meeting was set for a later date without any concrete agreement. /Turkiye/

US SENATOR GRAHAM URGES IRAQI KURDS NOT TO SEEK INDEPENDENCE
US Senator Lindsay Graham on Sunday called on Iraqi Kurds not to seek independence. Stating that US withdrawal from Iraq would cause a regional disaster, Graham urged the Iraqi Kurds to stay in Iraq, saying, "Please don't leave. If you leave here, there's going to be a bloodbath." Speaking to NBC's "Meet the Press," Grahman added, "The Turks are not going to sit on the sidelines and watch Iraq degenerate into chaos and allow an independent Kurdistan." /Aksam/