GUL: "TURKEY'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EU SHOULD NOT BE FORGOTTEN"
Turkey's contributions to the European Union should not be forgotten, said President Abdullah Gul yesterday, adding that Turkey will accept nothing less than full membership in the bloc. Gul made the remarks on an official visit to Slovakia, in an address at Comenius University in Bratislava, where he was honored with the university's Golden Medal. Turkey's foreign policy is designed to bring peace, stability and welfare to its region, Gul said. The world has recently seen important changes, and due to its position, Turkey was more affected than any other country by emerging risks, Gul said. As NATO has taken on wider missions, Turkey's role in regions facing problems has grown, he added. Turkey first tried to solve its problems with its Balkans neighbors, and later forged good relations with its southern neighbors, said Gul. He said Russia has become an important commercial partner for Turkey. Most recently, Turkey proposed a Caucasus Cooperation Platform for peace and stability in the region, he noted. Turkey is working to normalize relations with Armenia, Gul said. Turkey has deep historical ties with both Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the problems in the region are as important as those in the Middle East and have the potential to affect global stability, he said. Turkey began trilateral summit meetings to establish security between Afghanistan and Pakistan, he added. As a bridge between East and West, Turkey can understand the mentality in different regions, Gul said. On Turkey's EU process, Gul said that Turkey has had relations with Europe for over 1,000 years. Turkey has turned towards the West and is continuing its EU membership talks with determination, but while Turkey is doing all it can, the EU is falling behind, Gul said. "Turkey's contributions to the EU should not be forgotten," he said. "There is no alternative to full membership for Turkey. Turkey will make the EU pie bigger. The membership process of big countries has always been difficult, and we're aware of this as we conduct entry negotiations." Praising Comenius University, Gul said, "I'm pleased to see efforts being made to open a Turkish language department at the university. Turkey will support Comenius University on this." Comenius Rector Frantisek Gaher said that Turkey's crucial role for global peace lies in the words of the late Ataturk, who stressed the principle of "Peace at Home, Peace in the World." Turkey sends strong messages as a bridge in a sensitive position between East and West and different worlds, he said. Gaher said the golden medal was given in recognition of Gul's work for peace both as a president and foreign minister. Gul also had a working breakfast with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico and later met with Pavol Paska, speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic. In related news, the Czech Constitutional Court yesterday ruled that the Treaty of Lisbon, which envisages major changes in the structure of the EU, does not conflict with the Czech Constitution. Czech President Vaclav Klaus had said the court needed to approve the treaty before he could sign it. The treaty is expected to facilitate further EU enlargement, thus boosting Turkey's EU accession bid. /Turkiye/

PM ERDOGAN: "IF OUR MEMBERSHIP PROCESS FAILS, IT'S THE EU WHICH WILL LOSE"
The European Union must understand that Turkey's eventual accession into the 27-member bloc will not be a burden, but on the contrary will lighten the load on the EU's shoulders, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday, warning that the Union would suffer if Ankara's membership bid eventually fails. Speaking at his ruling Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) parliamentary group meeting, Erdogan criticized previous governments for a lack of progress on Turkey's EU bid until the AK Party came to power in 2002, followed in 2004 by the EU greenlighting membership talks with Ankara. On the European Commission's recent progress report on Turkey, which he called the best report since Turkey's membership talks began, Erdogan commented, "Please understand us correctly; Turkey is coming to the EU to share the burden, not to become a burden for the EU. The EU will have the chance to become a main part of the UN-led Alliance of Civilizations co-chaired by Turkey and Spain. That's why you should understand Turkey correctly, and if an adverse situation occurs, then Turkey will not be the losing party." He added that Turkey would continue its reforms through replacing the Maastricht criteria with the so-called "Istanbul criteria," and the Copenhagen criteria with the "Ankara criteria." Erdogan said, "We are continuing our accession process into the EU with determination despite all obstructions, all unfair policies, and all approaches that have thrown cold water on our enthusiasm." /Today's Zaman/

ERDOGAN REJECTS CLAIMS OF FOREIGN POLICY SHIFT
Speaking at his ruling Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) parliamentary group meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismissed claims that Turkish foreign policy has been experiencing a major shift in its orientation, turning its back on the West. Some international commentators have argued that Ankara may be slowly turning its back on its Western allies and seeking to regain its status as a regional power in the Middle East, especially in the wake of Erdogan's recent visit to Iran, and the signing of strategic cooperation agreements with Syria and Iraq. "The fact that our face is turned towards the West and that we're making sincere efforts for EU membership doesn't mean that we should turn our back to the East, South and North," Erdogan said. Turkey is still anchored to the West and closer ties with Iran don't indicate a change of course in foreign policy, Erdogan said, brushing aside criticism of his recent trip to Tehran. "Turkey's foreign policy has not changed course, but its foreign policy is normalizing when it comes to neighboring countries," Erdogan said. "Why should we turn our backs on other avenues? Turkey is anchored to European institutions and is at the same time a member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the world's largest Islamic organization." Reiterating that Turkey is opposed to all nuclear weapons, Erdogan renewed calls on Western powers to adopt a "just approach" toward Iran's nuclear program. An overall goal for getting rid of all nuclear weapons, including the ones owned by countries who advise Iran not to do so, should be embraced by the international community, he said. "The states that criticize Iran have nuclear weapons," he said. "We need to eliminate them all from the region and the world." /Today's Zaman-Hurriyet Daily News/

WITH FREE TRADE ZONE, VAN VIES TO BE INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL CAPITAL LINKING EAST AND WEST
Van, the 7,000-year-old cradle of civilization in eastern Anatolia, will become a major industrial and commerce center if plans for a free trade zone on the border between Iran and Turkey come to fruition. "We can create a new China, Bangladesh or Egypt along the Turkey-Iran border for the textile sector," Van Gov Munir Karaloglu said yesterday. The 7,000-year-old eastern Anatolian city is on the cusp of a massive economic regeneration thanks to Iranian-Turkish political efforts that have resulted in a joint project to build an international free industry and commerce zone. Using Iran's cheap energy and Turkey's know-how and technology, the idea is to produce goods in eastern Turkey on the Iranian border and transfer them to Central Asia and Iraq via a railway along the route of the historical Silk Road, which extends all the way to Pakistan. "Turkey has free trade zones and industrial zones, but no international free industry and commerce zone yet," said Karaloglu. "Industrialists from both countries will use a common area and energy from a foreign country. Customs taxes will be abolished, although the legal groundwork hasn't been laid yet." The project was first announced in September when Industry and Trade Minister Nihat Ergun traveled along the 280-kilometer border by helicopter to find a suitable area. "The biggest handicap for our manufacturers is the cost of energy," Karaloglu said. "If we manage to supply our producers with cheap Iranian energy, an economic boom in the region will follow. They always complain about difficulties in investing and operating in these countries and want to come back to Turkey for more reasonable costs," he said, adding that he hoped the project could help the unemployment-stricken region. /Hurriyet Daily News/

TURKEY TO ESTABLISH UNIVERSITY IN AFGHANISTAN
Ankara-based Gazi University has begun work on establishing a university in Afghanistan in cooperation with Middle Eastern Technical University (ODTU) and the Hacettepe and Ankara universities, at the request of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who wants Turkey to help the war-torn country's education system. The university is to be named after Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, a Sufi poet and scholar born in the Afghan city of Balkh who later migrated to Anatolia. Gazi University Rector Riza Ayhan yesterday said the process of establishing a university in Afghanistan began last year, with a teaching college set to open as a first step. Stating that Afghanistan has been hurt by a lack of educational institutions, Ayhan said this is behind Karzai's request to Turkey. Students of the new university will have the opportunity to continue their education at Gazi University. /Today's Zaman/

WITH NEW TERMINAL, ISTANBUL'S SECOND AIRPORT TO SERVE 20 MLN PASSENGERS A YEAR
Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, the smaller of the city's two main airports, will have the capacity to serve 20 million passengers a year by 2012 following the opening of a new international terminal building. The new terminal, along with additional buildings, opened with a ceremony over the weekend attended by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The construction, which began on May 3 under the partnership of Turkish, Malaysian and Indian companies, finished a year earlier than expected. "The airport had 4 million passengers when we made our bid," said Nihat Ozdemir, the chairman of Limak Holding, which bid _2.28 billion, including value added tax, to operate the airport with GMR Infrastructure and Malaysia Airports Holdings. "Today its capacity has reached 6.1 million," he said. "The project's term was normally 30 months but we resolved to finish it within 18 months. Today, we have finished it a year early, which is a world record. Passenger numbers are expected to rise to 8.5 million by 2010." Sabiha Gokcen will also expand its connections next week with the launch of Turkish Airlines (THY) international flights from the airport, he said. "We expect an increase of 15 percent in the numbers of passengers at Sabiha Gokcen next year," said G.M. Rao, the chair of Limak Holding's Indian partner GMR. "Istanbul Ataturk Airport is already overloaded. We see the future at Sabiha Gokcen." /Hurriyet Daily News/