GUL: "MY WELCOME IN DIYARBAKIR WAS AS WARM AS ANYWHERE IN TURKEY"
President Abdullah Gul said yesterday that there is no difference between the welcome he got late last year from locals in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir than how he is received in western Turkey. "I told (the people of Diyarbakir) that they are no different from our citizens in the west," daily Hurriyet quoted Gul as saying. "When I stepped out of the car, I hugged the children and spoke to our people. The same children who were called a lost case for throwing stones this time threw me roses." He added, "If you show people that the government is always on their side, that you will always look out for them, and that Diyarbakir is no different from any other region in the country, then you’ve already solved a major part of the problem." /Hurriyet Daily News/

DAVUTOGLU: "TURKEY IS AT REGIONAL CROSSROADS"
Turkey doesn’t want a bifurcated structure in Lebanon, said Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday, commenting on the political crisis there. "Our priority is to avoid the escalation of the government crisis," he explained. "In all contacts, Turkey is at the center. So regional countries have expectations of Turkey. They think that if Turkey intervenes, a solution can be reached." Davutoglu also said Ankara doesn’t want Prime Minister Saad Hariri excluded from the process, because he has supporters in Lebanon. "At France’s initiation, an international meeting is in the offing," he added. "It is very important that Syria also attends this meeting. The parties that are going to attend support the Hariri government. (But) if Syria doesn’t attend, then the international community will be divided. We want all the parties to attend the meeting and negotiations to proceed on a Saudi Arabia-Syria agreement." Asked about Israel’s role in the regional equation, Davutoglu said, "Israel is now excluded from regional equations. They think that if there a crisis breaks out in Lebanon, then the crisis Israel has created is going to be forgotten. But we don’t forget. Silent diplomacy continues with Israel, but our expectations must be met." /Aksam, Cumhuriyet/

TURKISH LEADERS DUE TO ATTEND SUMMIT ON LEBANESE CRISIS TODAY
Prime Minister Erdogan is meeting with Syrian President Assad and Qatar’s emir today in Damascus to seek a solution to the crisis in Lebanon. Ankara accelerated its diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis after the Lebanese government collapsed last week following a Hezbollah walkout because it fears the instability could spread throughout an already fragile region. Turkey will hold a regional summit in Syria today in an attempt to help keep Lebanon’s political crisis from spreading further, as Ankara increasingly seeks to assume a leadership role in the region. "We will exchange views with regional actors on what can be done and how we can all contribute to resolving the crisis," said a senior Foreign Ministry diplomat yesterday, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Turkey is in constant touch with other countries in the region. There are several options. We’re in favor of a broad-based government in which all groups in Lebanon are represented." Erdogan will meet with Assad and Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamas Bin Khalifah al-Thani in Damascus to discuss the latest developments, joined by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, diplomatic sources said. Referring to a French proposal to create an international contact group to negotiate a settlement, one diplomat said: "This is not our proposal (but) we don’t rule it out. It’s important who will be involved in this contact group. This is one of the ideas being discussed." /Hurriyet Daily News/

TURKS FLEEING CHAOS RETURN FROM TUNISIA
More than 300 Turkish citizens fleeing the chaos in the aftermath of the widespread protests that resulted in the ousting of Tunisia’s long-time president returned home over the weekend. Some 333 Turks, including eight babies, arrived at Istanbul Ataturk Airport on a Boeing 777 dispatched to Tunis by the Foreign Ministry to evacuate Turkish nationals who wanted to return home. Turkey’s Ambassador to Tunisia Akin Algan saw off the passengers at the airport, some one-third of the 1,000 Turkish citizens living in Tunisia. "All of those who want to leave Tunisia will be departing today, no one will be left behind, all will arrive home today," Algan was quoted as saying before the departure of the Turkish Airlines (THY) plane. /Today’s Zaman)

IN LAST-MINUTE MOVE, TURKEY ABSENT FROM TEAM OF IRAN NUCLEAR SITE INSPECTORS
Turkish representatives were missing from a team of international envoys that inspected two nuclear sites in Iran over the weekend at Tehran’s invitation. Also absent from the delegation were representatives from major world powers, including the United States and China. Alongside the Non-Aligned Movement of developing nations, the group of seven envoys was made up of ambassadors to the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from Egypt, Venezuela, Syria, Algeria, Oman and Cuba. The group, which will stay in Iran through today, visited the unfinished heavy water reactor near Arak in central Iran on Saturday and was to tour Iran’s main uranium enrichment facility near Natanz on Sunday. Turkey responded to the Iranian invitation with caution, fearing that accepting it could cast a shadow over its status as host of the next round of nuclear talks between Iran and world powers starting on Friday. But unlike the European Union, which outright rejected the offer to come to Iran to conduct inspections, Ankara gave no clear indication that it would decline the invitation until the last minute. /Today’s Zaman/

SURVEY: MOST GREEKS FAVOR RECONCILIATION WITH TURKEY
Nearly half of Greeks favor continuing rapprochement efforts with Turkey, according to a new survey. Some 49.6 percent of participants, when asked how Greece should act towards Turkey, said reconciliation efforts must continue, but another 44.7 percent backed a tougher policy with their Aegean neighbor, said the survey results published in yesterday’s Ethnos daily. Asked about the recent visit to Turkey of Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, 49.9 percent of those surveyed said they viewed it positively, while 32.1 percent said they saw it negatively. On Papandreou raising the Cyprus issues during his visit, 88.2 percent of Greeks said they approved, while 6.7 percent expressed disapproval. /Milliyet/

HISARCIKLIOGLU: "SHUTTERED GREEK BUSINESSES ARE WOOING TURKISH INVESTORS"
Greek businesspeople have invited Turkish investors to buy non-active facilities in western Thrace that were forced to close due to Greece’s economic crisis. The Greek crisis represents a serious investment opportunity for Turkish businesspeople, said Rifat Hisarciklioglu, head of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB). Speaking to the Turkey-Greece second Regional Business Forum in Komotini, western Thrace, Hisarciklioglu suggested that Turkish businesspeople invest in Greece, Turkish daily Milliyet reported yesterday. Hisarciklioglu highlighted the importance of the economic crisis in Greece, adding that the Komotini organized industrial zone is an example of how hard-hit the country is. "Greek businesspeople are calling on us to come to the region and buy these non-active facilities," he said. "They want to sell them below price to be able to maintain employment for the workers." He added, "Turkey is the road map for Greece to overcome the crisis. If Greece is facing an economic crisis, then here is Turkey with its population of 70 million, which imports products worth $200 billion each year. Let’s draw up a 10-year cooperation map together." /Hurriyet Daily News/

2010 SAW $5 BLN IN EXPORTS GO TO NORTHERN IRAQ
Exports worth $5.1 billion passed last year through Turkey’s Habur border gate into northern Iraq, a top Turkish customs official said on Friday. Rifat Bolat, the head of the Habur Customs Gate, said that in 2010 some 1.64 million vehicles and 3.34 million individuals passed through the gate. Most of the exports that went through the border crossing into northern Iraq involved construction materials, but significant numbers of potatoes and onions also went through Habur, Bolat said. Compared to previous years, the number of vehicles and passengers using Habur rose 20 percent, he added. /Hurriyet Daily News/