ERDOGAN MEETS WITH BASBUG
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday visited Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug. The visit at the General Staff headquarters lasted over one hour. During the meeting, which was Erdogan's first visit to Basbug after taking over the helm of Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) last month, Turkey's cross-border operations into northern Iraq against the terrorist PKK and an official motion enabling cross-border operations into northern Iraq were discussed. /Star/
IN NEW YORK, GUL ATTENDS A MEETING ON IRAQ
On the sidelines of 63rd UN General Assembly session, US President George W. Bush, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and heads of state of countries participating in the coalition forces in Iraq yesterday met with at a gathering on Iraq, with Turkey represented by President Abdullah Gul. At the meeting, Talabani thanked Turkey for its efforts to restore peace and stability in Iraq, and said that the struggle against the terrorist PKK will continue as before. US Permanent representative to UN Zalmay Khalilzad praised Turkey contributing to establishment of democracy and stability in Iraq. Khalilzad referred to Turkey's efforts to convince Iraqi Sunnis to participate in the elections and said they were very effective. Continuing to hold bilateral talks with fellow UN members, Gul was also decorated yesterday with a medal by New York-based Foreign Policy Association for his efforts and contributions to Middle Eastern peace. /Star-Aksam/
PARLIAMENT SPEAKER TOPTAN URGES KILICDAROGLU AND FIRAT TO ACT CALMLY
Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat, deputy leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Kemal Kilicdaroglu, deputy parliamentary group leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) are planning to settle accounts with each other in front of media in Parliament this afternoon. Then, Turkey's Parliament for the first time will witness a live debate between two politicians from rival parties that will be moderated by one of the country's most prominent journalists, Ugur Dundar. In related news, Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan advised both politicians to go to court instead of engaging in a face-to-face discussion under the roof of the Parliament. "Of course, we're not going to block our two friends' intention to make a press release," Toptan told reporters, adding that he advised the two to think more about making such a meeting. He also invited the two deputies to his office before the meeting, hopping to pursue them to forgo the showdown. The ongoing dispute between the two deputies has started when Kilicdaroglu argued a truck apprehended with heroin inside belonged to the company of which Firat is said to be a major partner. /Hurriyet/
TOP EU OFFICIALS TO VISIT TURKEY EARLY NEXT MONTH
Olli Rehn and Andris Pielbags, EU commissioners for enlargement and energy, are scheduled to pay an official visit to Ankara on October 10 to hold talks with high-level Turkish officials. During their visit, Rehn and Pielbags will be received by President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and will also meet with Foreign Minister and Chief Negotiator for the EU talks Ali Babacan. Rehn and Pielbags' talks are expected to focus on Turkey's EU reforms, the Cyprus issue and NABUCCO natural gas pipeline project as part of energy supply security of the union. The NABUCCO project will transport Caspian Sea natural gas to Europe via Turkey in an effort to reduce the bloc's energy dependence on Russia. /Turkiye/
BARTHOLOMEOUS URGES EU TO MAKE TURKEY FULL MEMBER
Istanbul's Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomeous has urged the European Union to take Turkey as a full member. Addressing European Parliament's General Assembly yesterday, the Orthodox leader said that Turkey's majority Muslim religious should not be an obstacle to it joining the EU, adding that the bloc would benefit from its different culture. He also called the EU officials not to do discrimination against Turkey during the accession process. /Hurriyet/
SIMSEK: "TURKEY'S SHOWING MAJOR STRENGTH AGAINST THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS"
Attending Global Investment Forum in New York yesterday, State Minister for the Economy Mehmet Simsek said that Turkey doesn't need IMF funds any more. However he added that evaluations on a cautionary stand-by or post-program monitoring agreements with the fund were continuing. Touching on the current US-oriented global economic turmoil, Simsek also said that Turkey's economy was showing major strength against the global economic crisis. The new economic program with the Fund is expected to take effect as of early next year after the completion of preliminary talks and technical works on it in the months to come. In related news, the IMF gave green light to a new economy policy package by the government, aiming to reduce unemployment, bolstering production and reviving the country's real economy. /Star/
CICEK: "LACK OF A SUCCESSFUL OPPOSITION UNDERLIES THE ERGENEKON PROBE"
In an interview with Star daily, Government spokesperson Cemil Cicek spoke about the ongoing Ergenekon probe and said, "Lack of a strong opposition is the source of problem." "Western democracy is different, if the ruling party loses power the opposition strengthens, one goes and the other one comes," he added. "As a result there aren't unlawful and off-democracy attempts. This isn't the same in Turkey. There are two legs of regime, but the opposition leg is in a plaster. Because of this, there are attempts which put democracy into trouble. Lack of an alternative of opposition underlies in the ground of searches such as party closures and Ergenekon type gangs. The ruling party is obliged to pay the price for opposition problem." Cicek also said that an anti-terrorism summit will gather under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the Ramadan feast and will lay the groundwork for October's National Security Council. /Star/
CHP'S BAYKAL TO MEET WITH PARLIAMENT SPEAKER
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal today will meet with Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan. Baykal will reportedly explain the reasons why the CHP won't assign members for the conciliation committees to be set up. Baykal is also expected to call Toptan for duty to provide the Supreme Board of Radio and Television (TRUK) head Zahid Akman to resign. /Cumhuriyet/