GUL: "MY VISIT TO YEREVAN BROKE DOWN PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS"
President Abdullah Gul visited Yerevan on Saturday at the invitation of Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian to watch a match between the national football teams of the two countries. Afterwards, Gul and Sarkisian attended a reception. Speaking to reporters while traveling back to Turkey , Gul said that he was very pleased in Sarkisian's interest, and added, "My visit had a positive impact in the eyes of the international public. Turkey doesn't deserve a negative image, and this visit will be appreciated and seen as brave." Stating that the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh is a key one for the Caucasus , he added that the two leaders discussed it at length, which he had not expected, and that the visit would help solve the problem. Gul said that during their talks, there was not even a veiled reference to the "genocide" issue. "In contrast, the Armenian president raised the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh," Gul added. Saying that the issue of opening up the Turkish-Armenian border had not come up, he stated, "If this atmosphere is maintained, everything will be back on track, and will be normalized. But that's not the case right now. I believe that my visit broke down psychological barriers in the Caucasus ." Gul also invited Sarkisian to visit Turkey in October 2009 for another football match between the national teams. /Aksam/

GUL CONGRATULATES NEW PAKISTANI PRESIDENT
President Abdullah Gul yesterday congratulated Asif Ali Zardari, who was elected Pakistan 's new president on Saturday. "We believe this (election) will enhance the welfare of our two country's peoples, who share important cultural and historic ties," said a statement by Gul. Zardari was also invited to Turkey for an official visit. /Turkish Daily News/

ERDOGAN ACCUSES DOGAN GROUP NEWSPAPERS OF WAGING "SMEAR CAMPAIGN"
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the weekend sharply criticized the Dogan Media Group and its head Aydin Dogan for trying to link him with a fraud case involving a German-based Turkish charity group. Addressing a local congress of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Istanbul , Erdogan said Dogan was waging a smear campaign against him and his party in order to pressure the government to make decisions in favor of what he called Dogan's "illegal" private interests, such as changing the zoning of Dogan-owned land. Erdogan said when he and officials of the Greater Istanbul Municipality refused Dogan's zoning request, the media group started to attack him and his party. Calling the claims carried by the group's newspapers "baseless," Erdogan said that freedom of the press doesn't mean freedom to smear with false accusations. He also accused the group's newspapers of tampering with a document in an effort to link him to the case. Erdogan called on Dogan and his newspapers to report the truth, saying that otherwise he would continue to expose the real reason for the smear campaign. /Sabah/

BABACAN MEETS WITH HIS ARMENIAN COUNTERPART IN YEREVAN
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan on Saturday met with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian in Yerevan . The meeting was reportedly positive and fruitful. The two top diplomats discussed regional issues and problems, the situation in the Caucasus, recent developments in Georgia , and the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. They agreed to meet again in New York , at the meeting of the UN General Assembly later this month. Afterwards, Babacan and his delegation returned to Turkey . /Milliyet/

BABACAN MEETS WITH PARTY LEADERS TO BRIEF THEM ON DRAFT NATIONAL PROGRAM
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan yesterday met with Grand Unity Party (BBP) leader Muhsin Yazicioglu at Parliament to brief him about the government's draft national program. After their meeting, Babacan told reporters that they had finished the draft last week and would now seek input on it. "We place great importance on broad acceptance of this program by all sectors of society, as we want a consensus on the program," he said. Babacan was turned down by the leaders of Turkey 's two main opposition parties, the Republican People's Party (CHP) Deniz Baykal and Nationalist Movement Party's (MHP) Devlet Bahceli, to get similar briefings, but he will meet today with opposition Democratic Left Party (DSP) leader Zeki Sezer. /Cumhuriyet/