PRESIDENT GUL: "GADDAFI SHOULD STEP DOWN"

Some countries are acting opportunistically towards developments in Libya, said President Abdullah Gul yesterday, apparently referring to France taking the lead role in military operations. Gul also urged Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to step down. "It is important for Turkey that the situation in Libya ends without further bloodshed," Gul told reporters before leaving for a trip to Ghana. "Those who run Libya must step down immediately to ward off plunderers."

PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE MOTION TODAY ON HELPING ENFORCE LIBYAN ARMS EMBARGO

A century after the last Ottoman troops left Libya, Turkish forces are set to return to enforce the arms embargo around the country. Parliament is due today to debate a motion on Turkey’s contributions to the NATO mission. Turkey is set to send five ships and one submarine to the region, joining two ships already there.

GUL: "WITHIN A FEW YEARS, WE COULD DOUBLE OUR TRADE IN AFRICA TO $30 BLN"

Within the next few years Turkey hopes to double its trade with African countries to $30 billion, said President Abdullah Gul yesterday. At a press conference before leaving for a visit to Ghana and Gabon, Gul said Turkey’s initiative to expand its relations in Africa is based not only on commercial goals but is an integrated policy including development and the growth of the continent. The visit, Gul’s fourth tour of sub-Saharan African countries, will make him be the first-ever Turkish president ever to visit Ghana and Gabon. "We place special importance on improving our relations with African countries," he said. Turkey’s trade with African countries tripled from $5 billion in 2003 to $16 billion in 2010. "But this isn’t enough," he added. "Our goal is to make it $30 billion within a few years."

DAVUTOGLU: "THE LIBYA OPERATION SHOULD BE FULLY CONDUCTED BY NATO"

The military operation on Libya should be fully helmed by NATO, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said yesterday "We believe the control and command mechanism of such an operation should be fully conducted by NATO, and it should be executed by NATO officials alone in a coordinated way," he told reporters after meeting in Ankara with his United Arab Emirates counterpart Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. "In particular, there is no way we could ever take part in an operation presented by several officials using improper descriptions like ’crusade’." Pointing to his talk with NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on the issue, Davutoglu said he would shortly speak with his French, British and US counterparts as well.

YILDIZ REBUFFS EU CRITICISM OF TURKEY’S NUCLEAR PLANS

The European Union’s stance on the criteria for nuclear power plants isn’t politically meaningful, as it has failed to open the energy chapter of Turkey’s accession negotiations for non-technical reasons, said Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz yesterday. Asked to comment on an EU letter requesting Turkey’s implementation of EU criteria on nuclear power plants, Yildiz said he would talk to European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger about the matter. Yildiz said Turkey would fulfill all criteria of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in building its nuclear power plants.

TURKEY SENDS FIVE VESSELS, ONE SUB, AND FIVE F-16 JETS TO NATO’S LIBYA MISSION

With four frigates, a submarine and an auxiliary warship, Turkey will make largest contribution of any NATO country for its mission to enforce the arms embargo off Libya. Turkey will also send six F-16 jets to a NATO base in Italy for the Libya operation. Under the NATO plan, Italy will provide the command and control ship of the naval mission. Canada, Spain, Britain, Greece, Italy and the US will each contribute one ship to the mission. Three submarines will be sent by Turkey, Spain and Italy. Turkey and Italy will also allocate two auxiliary ships. Parliament is set today to debate a motion on Turkey’s contribution to the NATO mission.

CAGLAYAN: "TURKEY COULD SAVE $2.5 BLN BY BOOSTING DOMESTIC SCRAP USE"

Turkey could save about $2.5 billion by reducing imports of scrap iron and steel by 5 million tons per year, Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan said yesterday. Caglayan made the remarks during a briefing on input supply strategy co-organized by the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB), Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD), Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON), and other groups. Caglayan said Turkey had managed to boost its total share of world steel production from 1.7 percent to 2.1 percent, adding that it currently is the world’s 10th-largest steel producer. He added that by 2015 Turkey’s scrap iron and steel needs will rise from 23 million tons to 34 million tons, saying Turkey must carefully examine its rising scrap dependence. "We need to improve domestic scrap iron and steel resources," he said. "This is very important since Turkey uses only 5 million tons of domestic scrap and imports the remainder. If we can add another 5 million tons of domestic scrap to the iron and steel sector, we can prevent the transfer of $2.5 billion to foreign countries." He added, "My ministry has sent notices to the governors of Turkey’s 81 provinces to devise an action plan for raising the scrap iron and steel supply. I hope we will be able to keep the $2.5 billion within Turkey and reduce our dependence on imports."

ANKARA ANNOUNCES SEIZURE OF CARGO OF IRANIAN PLANE BOUND FOR SYRIA

Turkey says last week it seized the cargo of an Iranian plane bound for Syria because the shipment violated UN sanctions. The Foreign Ministry didn’t disclose the content of the seizure, but the UN sanctions against Iran ban the export of arms and prohibit nuclear enrichment. Turkish media said yesterday that the plane was carrying light weapons, including automatic rifles, rocket launchers and mortars. Turkey says the plane, which had landed in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir on Saturday for the search, returned to Iran Tuesday night without the seized cargo. The government says it routinely searches Iranian cargo planes flying over Turkey.

F-35 ORDER ON HOLD OVER US’ REFUSAL TO SHARE TECHNOLOGY

Turkey announced on Tuesday that it is putting the planned purchase of 100 F-35 fighter jets from the US on hold because the Pentagon refuses to share the source code used in the software designed for the aircraft as well as the codes that might be used externally to activate the planes. Following a meeting of the Defense Industry Implementation Committee (SSIK), Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said that the negotiations over the F-35 procurement tender had not yielded "satisfactory results." He added, "We will evaluate the order in the next meeting, in light of the progress made in the talks by then." He said much ground had been covered in the talks in terms of technology sharing, but this was not enough for Turkey to accept the jets. He said the costs of the project had also risen but that the Turkish side had failed to secure the source code and the remote flight codes for the planes for which it will be paying $16 billion. Without the source code, Turkish engineers wouldn’t be able to make any changes to the software that operates the jets. The external flight codes are equally important, if not more, as they can be used externally to navigate the jets.

PUTIN PLAYS LNG CARD AGAINST TURKEY OVER SOUTH STREAM PROJECT

Russia hopes Turkey will support the planned South Stream project for the delivery of Russian natural gas to Europe, said Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin this week, adding that they are also considering the construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals on the Black Sea to supplement the underwater pipeline, which analysts say conflicted with the purpose of the major pipeline project. Some analysts believe he raised the LNG idea as a way to put pressure on Turkey to support South Stream because the transport by ships would sideline Turkey from the project. "We don’t think that there is any threat to this project from our Turkish partners," Putin told reporters in Brdo, Slovenia. Asked his view of Putin’s remarks, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz said yesterday that there is a normal procedure for Turkey to permit construction of this project and "there will remain no obstacles related to the construction permit once Russia fulfills all conditions [of that procedure]." He added, "There is no problem in our relations with Russia."

TURKEY SAYS GULF TROOPS IN BAHRAIN MUST BE TEMPORARY

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Tuesday insisted that Gulf troops in Bahrain must be temporary, saying it is important that political transformation take place without any foreign intervention. Bahraini Foreign Minister Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, speaking at a joint news conference with Davutoglu, said that foreign forces are only there to "protect state organs" and would be there for a "very limited" time. Davutoglu said he is pleased to hear this. Al-Khalifa paid a two-day visit to Turkey "to thank Turkey for its fair behavior and position" amid recent unrest in the region. He spoke with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday. Davutoglu warned against sectarian clashes in the region, saying they would harm the entire process of transformation. Civilian deaths and sectarian clashes are "unacceptable" for Turkey, he said, adding that it is very important that there are no confrontations between civilians and security forces. "We hope that stability, territorial integrity, sovereignty and a strong economy will be sustained," said Davutoglu.