GUL: "THE US MUST MAKE THE MIDEAST A PRIORITY"
Saying that active US engagement is needed to reach a settlement, President Abdullah Gul on Sunday urged Barack Obama, who is set to be inaugurated as US president today, to make the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a priority. "The Obama administration should include this issue among its priorities," Gul told reporters after returning from an international summit on Gaza in Egypt. "A long-term solution to this problem can be secured through the fair and determined engagement of the US," he added. "Everybody knows and expects this." /Hurriyet Daily News/

PM ERDOGAN HOLDS TALKS IN BRUSSELS
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday met in Brussels with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, and later shared a luncheon with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn. Erdogan also met with European Parliament Chairman Hans-Gert Poettering. Speaking at a conference held by the Friends of Europe think-thank, Erdogan reiterated Turkey's determination in its EU bid. Dismissing claims that Turkey's EU accession process has slowed down, he said in its last legislative term alone Parliament passed over 30 laws for EU harmonization. Reiterating that the interests of Turkey and the West are common, he said, "Turkey won't bring additional burdens to the EU but will in fact lighten its load." Touching on his meeting with Barroso, Erdogan stated that they discussed how they can accelerate Turkey's EU process and stressed that the common aim is Turkey's full EU membership. He said that Barroso spoke well of the appointment of Egemen Bagis as chief European Union talks negotiator as well as the new TRT 6, state-owned Turkish Radio and Television Corporation's (TRT) first Kurdish-language TV station. Touching on the situation in Cyprus, he stated, "The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) supported the UN plan to reunite the island, but it was never implemented due to opposition from other members and Greek Cyprus, which joined the EU a few days after the Greek Cypriots rejected the same UN plan in April 2004 in a simultaneous referendum." /Star/

IN BRUSSELS, ERDOGAN REITERATES COMMITMENT FOR TURKEY'S EU BID
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday attended a conference on Turkish-European Union relations at the European Policy Center in Brussels as a guest of EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. At the conference, Erdogan devoted most of his speech to developments in Gaza. Erdogan said that Hamas came to power in Palestine through elections and asked all parties to respect this outcome, warning that failing to do so would hurt democracy. "The elections were not held to please (then Palestinian President Mahmoud) Abbas," he said. Erdogan also reiterated Turkey's commitment to its EU reform process, saying that this year will see a leap forward in Turkish-EU relations. He added, "The opposition in Turkey is completely against the EU, and for this reason they always stall us." Touching on relations with Iran, he said that Ankara has neighborly and strategic ties with Tehran and that it is out of the question to break these off. /Milliyet/

DAVUTOGLU: "TURKEY HAD A KEY ROLE IN REACHING GAZA CEASE-FIRE"
Turkey played a key role in reaching the recent bilateral cease-fire in Gaza, especially in convincing Hamas, said Ahmet Davutoglu, chief foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, yesterday. "If a bilateral cease-fire was reached, Turkey helped make this possible," he added. Stressing that Turkey was the only country trusted by both Israel and Hamas, Davutoglu said, "If the cease-fire had been a unilateral one, the Egyptian summit would have been just a meeting with no results. Turkey's understanding of the problem and its ability to talk with all sides made it possible to establish a bilateral cease-fire." /Turkiye/

GEN. BASBUG MEETS SACEUR GEN. CRADDOCK
Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) Gen. John Craddock yesterday met with Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug in Ankara. Issues concerning NATO and Turkish and US military forces were discussed during the meeting.

HRANT DINK REMEMBERED
Prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was shot to death two years ago, was remembered yesterday. Holding banners and chanting slogans, some 2,000 people gathered in Istanbul's Sisli district in front of the offices of weekly Agos, where Dink was editor-in-chief. He was also commemorated through ceremonies in Malatya, Antalya, Diyarbakir, Izmir and Mersin. /Hurriyet/

GOVT TO ANNOUNCE NEW INCENTIVES FOR REAL SECTOR
Speaking at a meeting of the Economic Coordination Board (EKK) yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Nazim Ekren said that the government has introduced incentives to boost productivity to help the real sector weather the global economic crisis, and stressed the importance of preserving Turkey's macroeconomic, fiscal and political stability for this. Saying the government has doubled its loans to exporters and the Central Bank infused $2.5 billion of additional liquidity into the banking system, Ekren said the government would continue to take all necessary measures in the short, medium and long term against the crisis in close cooperation with the real sector. Ekren also said that the problems caused by falling world demand due to the crisis had been long predicted and that necessary measures had been taken to deal with this. The government will soon announce a new incentive package for sectors such as tourism, construction, agriculture and industry, he added. Also speaking at the meeting, Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) head Rifat Hisarciklioglu said that as the economy is going through an extraordinary time, extraordinary measures are needed. Stressing that Turkey won't be unaffected by the crisis, Hisarciklioglu said the domestic market should be revived and the government should act to help the real sector. "We're ready to take risks if necessary to help the government's efforts to ease the impact of the crisis on Turkey," he said. /Turkiye/

SOLE BID FOR PLANNED NUCLEAR POWER FOUND HIGH
Minutes after its bid of 21.16 cents for one-kilowatt per hour (KWH) for electricity generated at a planned nuclear power plant to be constructed in Mersin Akkuyu was announced, a consortium led by Russia's Atomstroyexport submitted a new bid which has yet to be disclosed. According to experts, the world average of the cost of one-kwh electricity produced at nuclear plants is in the range of 10-15 cents. "The company has conveyed to us a revised price which they said was linked to world economic developments," Energy Minister Hilmi Guler told a press conference, adding that the new bid had not been opened. TETAS, the state company that will eventually market the plant's power production, will open the new bid, assess it and pass it on to the Cabinet for final approval, Guler added. /Hurriyet/