CAUCASUS, IRAN, ENERGY SET TO DOMINATE GUL'S VISIT TO AZERBAIJAN
President Abdullah Gul is set to arrive in Baku today for an official two-day visit at the invitation of his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev. In light of the importance Ankara places on further improving relations with Turkic countries, Gul will visit the Azeri capital as part of regular high-level mutual visits between Turkey and Azerbaijan. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz is accompanying Gul on his visit, during which ways of boosting trade between the two countries will be discussed in detail. Bilateral ties and a number of regional and international issues of common concern such as recent developments in the Caucasus, Iran, and energy-related matters are also expected to be discussed. As part of the visit, Gul and Aliyev will also co-chair a meeting of the Turkish-Azeri Joint Economic Commission. Among the high-level Azeri officials Gul is set to meet with during his stay are Parliament Speaker Oktay Asadov and Prime Minister Artur Rasizade. Gul will also meet with Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahsukur Pashazade, chairman of the group Muslims of the Caucasus (BMC). Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will also accompany Gul during the visit, during which the two countries will update the military aspect of a friendship and cooperation pact originally signed in 1992. /Turkiye/
MEETING WITH IRAQI TURKMEN DEPUTIES, DAVUTOGLU CALLS FOR UNITY IN IRAQ
At a fast-breaking dinner in Ankara over the weekend, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with Iraqi Turkmen parliamentarians who won their seats in Iraq's March general elections. Speaking to reporters afterwards, Davutoglu said that they had discussed the political situation in Iraq, which has been unable to form a government since the elections, and that he told them about Turkey's efforts to break the deadlock amid the country's fragile stability as the US plans to withdraw its troops there late next year. Stating that they also discussed how ethnic Turkmens, as one of Iraq's fundamental elements, would continue to contribute to Iraq's unity and prosperity, Davutoglu said, "It is crucial that Iraqi society comes together beyond all sectarian and ethnic conflicts. Given the geographic areas they live in and their longstanding key position in society, Turkmens are among the leading elements of the Iraqi society representing Iraq's unity. For this reason, Turkmens continuing to make contributions to Iraq in the future carries great importance." Stressing that Turkey places great importance on the Turkmen deputies in the Iraqi Parliament working together, Davutoglu said they have the determination to achieve this and to form a Turkmen group in the Parliament. Davutoglu also stressed the great importance Turkey places on unity and solidarity among Iraq's various ethnic and sectarian groups - Sunnis, Shiites, Arabs, Turks, Kurds, Turkmens and Assyrians - and added that the Turkmens feel the same. /Sabah/
AHMADINEJAD: "THE TEHRAN SWAP DEAL AIMS TO PREVENT CONFRONTATION"
Speaking to Iran's state-owned English language Press TV, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday called a nuclear fuel swap deal brokered by Turkey and Brazil this May the way out of nuclear standoff between Iran and major world powers. Turkey and Brazil have repeatedly said the deal they brokered, for Iran to ship some of its low-enriched uranium abroad in exchange for nuclear fuel for a research reactor in Tehran, is a confidence-building measure to help break the stalemate in nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 (five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany), thus preventing nuclear tension from escalating into a military confrontation. But the deal didn't dissuade the US and its allies from passing a fourth round of UN sanctions against Tehran early this summer. Stating that the Tehran declaration calls for equal opportunities for all countries to produce nuclear energy, Ahmadinejad said the deal is aimed at averting a possible confrontation as well as boosting cooperation. Thanks to Turkey's intensified diplomatic efforts to keep the deal alive to ensure the continuation of nuclear talks with Iran, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iran's Chief Nuclear Negotiator Saeed Jalili are expected to meet in Istanbul this fall to restart the stalled nuclear talks. /Turkiye/
VISITING ANKARA, MEXICAN FM STRESSES STRONGER TIES WITH TURKEY
Despite the distance between them, the emerging economies of Turkey and Mexico are seeking to strengthen cooperative ties in such areas as economic opportunities, migration, and the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, said Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinoza, on a visit to Turkey last week. "Turkey has an increasing pressure in the international arena. It's really assuming the role it is (being) called (on) to play as one major country, one important economy," Espinoza said in an interview Friday. Following a visit to Mexico last year by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, both countries have started to work on a framework to boost bilateral relations. In Ankara on Friday, Espinoza signed an agreement for cooperation on education, science, culture, the arts, the media, youth and sports. She stressed the similarities between Mexico and Turkey as large, developing countries that are very open to contact with the outside world. Saying that Mexico is following Turkey's European Union accession talks, she added, "We believe very much in integration and strengthening the institutions of the country." Espinoza said Mexico hopes to provide further opportunities for the two sides to seek joint ventures and projects together. Turkish companies "can make some joint efforts to have a bigger presence in Mexico," she said, adding that Turkish firms can develop with other companies in Latin Aamerica in general, as well as the Caribbean. This November, Cancun, Mexico will host the 16th session Conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). "I was very happy to hear that Turkey is ready to support Mexico in its task as a host and chair of the conference on climate change," said Espinoza. "Turkey is an important actor in these negotiations. We hope that Turkey will remain being a very active participant in order to give an impulse to having . the most concrete negotiations as soon as possible." /Hurriyet Daily News/
PEACE MARKS HISTORIC MASS AT TRABZON'S SUMELA MONASTERY
A historic mass at the Sumela Monastery in the Black Sea coastal province of Trabzon - a first in republican history - took place yesterday. Some 3,000 Orthodox Christians gathered for the mass at the ancient monastery early in the day, which came after the government allowed a church service to be held there once a year in a gradual loosening of restrictions on religious expression. The mass was officiated by Istanbul-based Fener Greek Patriarch Bartholomew. Pilgrims from Greece, Russia, Georgia and other countries traveled to the monastery, which currently serves as a museum. Around 500 pilgrims were admitted to the monastery during the mass, and the remaining participants watched the event from large screens set up outside Sumela. After the ceremony, Bartholomew gave thanks to the Culture Ministry for opening the monastery's doors for the mass, calling this an act of courtesy on the part of the Turkish government. "We owe this day of worship to our government, which was kind enough to give us permission," he said. "We are most thankful as this day, the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, is sacred not only for believers in the Black Sea region but also for the entire Orthodox and Christian world. We are blessed to celebrate this day here at Sumela." Bartholomew also expressed the will of Turkey's Christian population to coexist with Muslim Turks. "The culture of coexistence is a legacy bequeathed to us," he explained. "Let us make this legacy live and pass it on to younger generations so that no one suffers from problems linked to coexistence. I hope peace and happiness will dominate the Middle East and Caucasus." He also wished the Muslim world a happy Ramadan, saying, "I hope all Muslims will observe this month with peace, patience and worship." /Today's Zaman/
REPORTS HIGHLIGHTS CHALLENGES OF US MISSIONS IN TURKEY
A US report prepared after inspection visits to US diplomatic missions in Turkey early this year underlines the increasing challenges facing diplomats as Turkey takes on a larger and more complex role in the world. "Turkey has grown in complexity and importance for the United States at a faster rate than the missions' public diplomacy resources, especially people," said the report, prepared after inspections in Washington, Ankara, Adana, Istanbul and Izmir. "A continuous balancing act between competing priorities is required." According to the document, released on Friday, US diplomatic missions in Turkey manage "the complex and very important relationship between Turkey and the United States at a time when the Turkish government is demonstrating a new level of activism, both regionally and on domestic issues." It added, "Understanding Turkey's motives and goals for this activism is critical to the success of the (overall) mission's work as it guides the Washington interagency process towards effective ways of dealing with Turkey." It said Ankara's commitment to working toward regional stability manifests itself "sometimes in ways that please the United States and other times not" and emphasized, in particular, that Turkey's future links to Israel and Armenia remain important to the US. Public diplomacy is also a challenge, said the document, because public opinion toward the US is largely unfavorable. Other challenges concern the media, where "sensational treatment of issues having to do with the United States is a constant risk," and with a Turkish society that has been undergoing a transformation. These changes have implications for US missions' outreach, which must go more broadly, more deeply, and farther afield to inform and influence Turks, it said. /Today's Zaman/
GUNAY: "TURKEY IS A TOP TOURISM DESTINATION"
Turkey is among the world's top 10 countries for tourism, and 27 million tourists visited Turkey in 2009, in a "great achievement," said Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay over the weekend. The effects of the world economic crisis that began in 2008 are still being felt in several European countries, he said. Some 7.5 million tourists visited Istanbul in 2009, and the city could attract 15 million annually within the next five years, he added. /Hurriyet Daily News/