MONGOLIAN PRESIDENT VISITS TURKEY
Mongolian President Natsagiyn Bagabandi yesterday arrived in Ankara to pay an official visit at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Necdet Sezer. After their meeting, the two leaders said that despite the geographical distance separating their countries, they had a historical friendship which Bagabandi’s visit would only enhance. In the evening, Sezer hosted a banquet in the honor of the Mongolian leader and his wife. /Cumhuriyet/

DE SOTO PAYS FAREWELL VISITS TO ERDOGAN, GUL
Special UN Cyprus Envoy Alvaro de Soto yesterday arrived in Ankara to pay a farewell visit to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. During their meeting, Erdogan praised de Soto’s intense efforts in recent months for a Cyprus resolution. The envoy said that he would prepare an objective report on the recent Cyprus referendums and soon present it to the UN, adding that Greek Cypriot leader Tassos Papadopoulos now recognized that they had missed a historic opportunity in turning down the UN plan. When de Soto asked Erdogan how Ankara would react to another referendum on the plan, Erdogan reportedly said that his government didn’t favor one. The premier stated that Greek Cyprus would join the ranks of the EU on Saturday representing the whole island, adding that he Turkish Cypriots’ acceptance of the UN plan should be rewarded. Later, de Soto paid a farewell visit to Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. /Star/

ERDOGAN TO RECEIVE DELEGATION OF RECTORS
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set today to receive Professor Ayhan Alkis, chair of the Interuniversity Council, accompanied by a delegation of rectors. In addition, the Rectors Committee is expected to convene on Saturday to discuss work on the Board of Higher Education (YOK) bill. /Turkiye/

ATHENS PREPARES SCHEDULE FOR ERDOGAN’S VISIT NEXT WEEK
Athens is preparing a schedule for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Greece set to begin next Thursday, May 6, at the invitation of his Greek counterpart Kostas Karamanlis. Erdogan’s three-day visit will be the first of a Turkish premier in over a decade. Erdogan, accompanied by a group of businessmen and journalists, is also scheduled to visit Gumulcine, a Greek town in western Thrace near Turkey’s border, and meet with Turkish community leaders there on the last day of his visit. At a press conference yesterday, Greek government spokesman Teodoros Rusopulos stated that his government was pleased to host the Turkish premier. Pointing to recent developments in Turkish-Greek relations, Rusopulos said, “Erdogan has the right to visit his people in western Thrace. This is a confirmation that we’ve left behind our concerns and lack of trust, and it also shows the level of our democracy.” /Turkiye/

CHIRAC: “TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP MAY TAKE A LONG TIME”
At a press conference yesterday, French President Jacques Chirac expressed support for Turkey’s European Union membership in the long term. Commenting on the EU enlargement process, Chirac claimed that for the time being Turkey was not ready to join the EU ranks, but added that after full implementation of EU reforms its membership might be possible. Highlighting the EU Commission report on Turkey due this October, Chirac said, “There are two possibilities: The commission may say that it needs some more time to begin accession talks, or else that Ankara has implemented the criteria and is ready to begin negotiations.” He stated that even when Turkey begins its negotiations, they may take a long time, “in the perspective of 10 to 15 years,” and added that Turkey’s future lay in Europe. In response to a question, Chirac said that recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide would not be a precondition for Turkey’s membership. “This issue concerns only the two states, Turkey and Armenia,” said the French leader. Stating that he was satisfied with recent positive developments between Ankara and Yerevan, Chirac added, “Bilateral relations should not be evaluated only through the lens of the past.” /Hurriyet/

EUROPEAN COUNCIL MOVES TO EASE TRNC’S ISOLATION
The European Council yesterday adopted legislation designed to ease the isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The legislation, due to take effect on Saturday, would facilitate the sale of TRNC goods and the movement of persons across the Cypriot Green Line as well as that of Turkish Cypriots within the European Union. In related news, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said that under the legislation, the European Union should establish representation within the TRNC. Asked whether another referendum would be held on the island, Gul said that doing so would be difficult. /Aksam/

TALAT CALLS EUROPEAN COUNCIL LEGISLATION “UNSATISFACTORY”
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday arrived in Ankara and met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the historic Cyprus referendums and subsequent developments, such as legislation just adopted by the European Commission to ease the TRNC’s isolation. Speaking afterwards, Talat said that the legislation was unsatisfactory and should not be passed in its current form. For his part, Erdogan stressed the importance of cooperation between Ankara and the TRNC. Later, Talat met with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. In related news, Talat is expected to travel to Washington next week to meet with US Secretary of State Colin Powell. /Cumhuriyet/

EUROPEAN COMMISSION: “WHILE PREPARING TURKEY’S PROGRESS REPORT, WE WILL CONSIDER CONCRETE DEVELOPMENTS THERE”
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, European Commission Spokesman Reijo Kemppinen said that the commission was now preparing its fall progress report on Turkey, adding that the report wouldn’t be affected by negative statements by politicians, perhaps alluding to French President Jacques Chirac’s remarks yesterday that Ankara couldn’t join the EU in the short term. “While preparing the report, we will consider concrete developments in Turkey,” added Kemppinen. In related news, Jacques Delors, former European Commission chairman, said that Turkey, like all other EU candidates, should fulfill the Copenhagen criteria in order to join the Union. /Aksam/

NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL SCHEFFER VISITS ISTANBUL
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is currently paying a visit to Istanbul to lay the groundwork for the NATO summit there set for June. Addressing students at Galatasaray University, Scheffer called Istanbul a bridge between two continents. Pointing to Turkey’s close relations with the Balkan, Caucasus, Mediterranean, Middle East and Central Asian regions, the secretary-general said that Ankara was an important ally, adding that its success was closely tied to NATO’s. “As a secular, democratic state, Turkey can play an important role in the region known by some as the ‘Greater Middle East’,” he added. Scheffer further stressed that even as seven new members join NATO, the values of the alliance should be preserved. /Turkiye/