ERDOGAN TO VISIT GEORGIA
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to travel to Tbilisi, Georgia today to meet with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili to discuss a number of issues, including bilateral relations and regional and international developments. During his two-day visit, Erdogan is also expected to meet with his Georgian counterpart Zurab Zhvania. In related news, Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis is due to arrive in Turkey next Monday for a four-day visit, where he will be expected to express his support for Turkey’s European Union membership bid before the December EU summit, when the Union is to decide whether or not to begin Ankara’s accession talks. /Turkiye/

ISTANBUL ROCKED BY BOMB BLASTS
Bomb blasts early Tuesday rocked two tourist hotels and a gas complex in Istanbul, killing two and wounding 11. Two near-simultaneous explosions occurred at around 2 am in the hotels, and an hour later two more bombs went off at a liquefied gas storage site in Esenyurt, on Istanbul's outskirts. “We are taking all necessary measures to ensure that tourism is not affected,” Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu told a news conference. Aksu recalled that Istanbul earlier this year hosted a NATO summit and several other international conferences without a hitch, thus proving Turkish officials’ ability to provide security. An al-Qaeda-linked group claimed responsibility for the bombings. “The Abu Hafs [Al Masri] Brigades have carried out the first of a series of operations that will be launched in the face of European states... and the upcoming attacks will be more violent,” the group said a statement posted on an Islamist website. However, Aksu stated that the perpetrators of the bombings were Kurdish separatist PKK militants. In the evening, the PKK denied the al-Qaeda-linked group’s statement, and itself claimed responsibility for the attacks. /All Papers/

KARAMANLIS REITERATES SUPPORT FOR TURKEY’S EU BID, SAYS ANKARA’S FUTURE IS IN EUROPE
Speaking to French daily Le Monde yesterday, Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis praised Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying that now Ankara was much closer to the European Union thanks to his Turkish counterpart. Karamanlis stated that Ankara’s future was in Europe and reiterated Greece’s support for Turkey’s EU bid. He said that Turkey’s European Union membership was important not only for Ankara, but also for the whole region and that recently Ankara had taken important steps forward. “We appreciate Turkey’s EU reforms for its membership bid,” said Karamanlis. Asked whether close relations between Turkey and the EU would hinder a resolution on the Cyprus issue, Karamanlis said that he didn’t believe so, adding that for the last 40 years, all sides had been doing their utmost for a resolution. He added that he didn’t believe the Greek Cypriots would oppose Turkey’s EU bid. /Turkiye/

PUTIN INVITES ERDOGAN TO VISIT RUSSIA
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is expected to pay an official visit to Turkey in September, has invited Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to visit his country for World War II victory commemoration ceremonies to be held next May. Erdogan yesterday met with Russian Ambassador in Ankara Peter Stegny, who conveyed Putin’s invitation to the premier. The leaders of the UN National Security Council and G-8 countries are expected to attend the victory celebrations. /Hurriyet/

TALAT: “THE TRNC’S ISOLATION SHOULD BE ENDED BEFORE ANKARA GETS A DATE TO BEGIN ITS EU ACCESSION TALKS”
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday warned that if Turkey gets a date to begin its European Union accession talks at the December EU summit, then this could reduce Ankara’s leverage on the Cyprus issue. Talat stressed that in light of this danger, the TRNC’s international isolation should be brought to an end before Turkey gets a date from the EU. He further urged that since Ankara had fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria, the Union should give Turkey such a date. /Milliyet/

UNAKITAN PREDICTS JOB GROWTH ON THE WAY
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan predicted that increasing investment and economic growth would yield rising employment in the months to come. “We’ll see this in the second half of this year and the next,” he said. He also touted recent low inflation figures, adding that the nation would get used to this modest inflation. Unakitan stated that the government was closely watching Turkey’s high current accounts deficit and had taken certain measures to reduce it. The current accounts deficit is expected to reach $10 billion by year’s-end. /Aksam/

ISO SURVEY EXPRESSES OPTIMISM ON ECONOMY
Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) Chairman Tanil Kucuk yesterday released the results of the chamber’s Economic Situation Public Survey, saying that it showed optimism for the economy for the second half the year. Kucuk said that the ITO expected the economy to continue to grow in the coming months. He also underlined that unemployment could only be tackled through well-prepared, comprehensive plans designed to create new manufacturing jobs. /Hurriyet/