BAKU SUPPORTS ERDOGAN`S PROPOSED CAUCASUS PLATFORM
On a one-day visit to Baku yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev about Turkey `s proposal for a new Caucasus platform. Later, Erdogan told a joint press conference that he was pleased by the proposal`s warm reception. He said that the two countries had agreed that the pact would make a major contribution to promoting peace, security and stability in the region. "It should be a geography-based platform, and must aim at regional peace and security, and include economic cooperation and energy security," Erdogan said. "It must be based on the principles of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and include a joint mechanism for problem-solving and crisis management." Erdogan said Russia and Georgia had also welcomed the proposed platform, adding that Turkey was pleased to see Azerbaijan follow suit. Stressing that Turkey , Azerbaijan and Georgia have together worked on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the forthcoming Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad, Erdogan said he believes cooperation between the three countries to make the Caucasus a region of peace, stability and prosperity would continue. For his part, Azerbaijan `s Aliyev said his country had good relations with both Russia and Georgia , and expressed his wish for friendly relations between these two countries. /Turkiye/

MGK TO CONVENE TODAY
The National Security Council (MGK), chaired by President Abdullah Gul, is set to convene today in Istanbul , with Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit attending for the last time ahead of his retirement. Issues expected to be discussed at the gathering include the Georgian crisis in the Caucasus, the fight against the terrorist PKK at home and abroad, and developments in Iraq . /Milliyet/

GUL SENDS CONDOLENCES TO SPANISH KING JUAN CARLOS AND FRANCE `S SARKOZY
President Abdullah Gul yesterday sent a message to Spanish King Juan Carlos expressing his deepest condolences for a plane crash in Madrid which killed more than 140 people. In related news, Gul also send a message of condolences to his French President Nicolas Sarkozy for the loss of 10 French soldiers and 21 injured during NATO operations in Afghanistan . /Milliyet-Star/

ROMANIAN PRESIDENT DUE IN TURKEY FOR REGIONAL TALKS
Romanian President Traian Basescu, along with Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu, will pay a one-day working visit to Turkey today as part of a regional tour expected to address the crisis in the Caucasus . Basescu is expected to meet with both President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. /Today`s Zaman/

TURKEY TO ALLOW US SHIPS TO GO THROUGH STRAITS TO TAKE AID TO GEORGIA
Turkey yesterday approved the passage of two US naval ships and a coast guard cutter through the Turkish Straits into the Black Sea to transport humanitarian relief supplies to Georgia , said State Department spokesman Robert Wood. The move followed US talks with Ankara over use of the Straits to carry humanitarian aid. /Milliyet/

ISRAEL, TURKEY , US HOLD JOINT MEDITERRANEAN EXERCISES
Israel, Turkey and the US yesterday held joint rescue maneuvers involving naval ships and aircraft in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel . The maneuvers were part of Reliant Mermaid, a trilateral humanitarian search and rescue exercise marking its ninth year. /Aksam/

TURKEY, AFRICAN COUNTRIES SIGN PACT FOR BUSINESS CHAMBER
On the final day of the First Turkish-African Cooperation Summit, President Abdullah Gul yesterday hosted a breakfast for leaders, representatives and businessmen from participating countries at the Ciragan Palace . Gul, Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) head Rifat Hisarciklioglu and Muhammad Al Masri, head of the African Chambers Union, also signed a protocol establishing the Turkish-African Chamber (TAC). The new chamber is designed to boost trade relations between Turkey and the continent. "Our aim is to improve trade relations, increase investments, establish a conducive business environment for investments, promote knowledge and technology transfers, and develop a logistics infrastructure between Turkey and African countries," said a statement about the new chamber. It added that the TAC would help institutionalize cooperation between Turkish and African business organizations. /Sabah/

IN ISTANBUL , SUDANESE PRESIDENT REJECTS GENOCIDE CHARGES
In Istanbul yesterday, after attending the first Turkey-Africa Cooperation Summit, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir denied claims that he was responsible for genocide in Darfur , dismissing such claims as enemy propaganda. He said a move by an International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor to charge him with war crimes only encourages those who don`t want peace in the region. "If the (prosecutor`s) figures were accurate, there should be mass graves. Where are those mass graves?" al-Bashir told a press conference. "It is true that people were killed, but the figures are inflated. It is true that there is a war between the government and rebels, but why is that rebels against the government are considered downtrodden? It`s a double standard." Al-Bashir said his country always kept the door open for peace and dialogue, adding that it was fighting those who want to divide Sudan . /Sabah/

SAHIN SCORES GOLD IN OLYMPIC WRESTLING
Turkish wrestler Ramazan Sahin yesterday won an Olympic gold medal in the men`s 66 kg in freestyle wrestling in Beijing `s Olympic Games. Sahin got the gold by besting his Cuban, Iranian, Georgian and Ukrainian rivals. It was the first gold for Turkey in this year`s Olympics. Sahin has also won world and European championships. /All Papers/