ERDOGAN FLIES TO WASHINGTON
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan left Turkey for Washington yesterday. Erdogan will hold contacts with US President George W. Bush, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Robert Pollock, an editor at the Wall Street Journal. Pollock was criticized earlier this year by the Justice and Development Party for describing Turkey as a “sick man” in a column on Turkish-US relations. Ankara considers these visits important opportunities to improve relations with the US, which have been tense in recent years, and to refresh the friendship. /Sabah/

GUL TRAVELS TO US
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday traveled to the US to hold a series of contacts and to accompany Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his visit to the country. Before his departure at Ankara’s Esenboga Airport, Gul told reporters that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government was pursuing a sound and coherent policy on Cyprus. If previous governments had followed our policy, the Greek Cypriots would not have been a member of the European Union now, and Turkish Cypriots would have been in a better position, said Gul. He stressed that Ankara placed importance on furthering Turkey’s relations with the US. Asked about the PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, Gul stated that he would urge US officials to cooperate in ending the presence of terrorists in the region. /Star/

UN’S PRENDERGAST MEETS WITH GUL OVER CYPRUS
After completing his contacts in Cyprus and Greece, United Nations Undersecretary-General for Foreign Affairs Kieran Prendergast yesterday arrived in Ankara. Prendergast met with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and other high-level foreign ministry officials to exchange views on the Cyprus issue. He is expected to report on his talks to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. /Turkiye/

YUSHCHENKO IN ANKARA
Ukraine’s new President Victor Yushchenko arrived in Ankara yesterday for an official visit. First he met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Following the meeting, Erdogan said that they had discussed political, economic, military, commercial and cultural issues. Erdogan added, “Ukraine and Turkey have no problems with each other. Turkish contractors have a great many investment in Ukraine. The trade volume between the two countries totals $3 billion. Some 300,000 Ukrainian tourists visited our country last year. Today we discussed what we could do in such areas as energy and transportation. Ukraine, which has a unique situation particularly in terms of space research, is planning joint investments with Turkey. In addition, we are hoping we can act together on infrastructure and superstructure issues.” In addition, a Commercial and Economic Cooperation Protocol was signed with State Minister Kursad Tuzmen and Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oley Rybachuk. Yushchenko will meet with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer at the Cankaya Presidential Palace today to discuss bilateral political and economic relations and regional issues. /Cumhuriyet, Türkiye/

GEN. BASBUG: “THE TURKISH NATION EXPECTS CONCRETE STEPS FROM THE US”
Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug said yesterday that Ankara and the US had common points in the fight against terrorism, but that they were not as one in their stance regarding the PKK. Speaking to a gathering of the American-Turkish Council (ATC) in Washington, Basbug stated that Turkish people were looking for steps to be taken by the US against the terrorist PKK militants in northern Iraq. /Turkiye/

BABACAN MEETS WITH IMF DELEGATION
State Economy Minister Ali Babacan yesterday met in Ankara with a visiting International Monetary Fund delegation led by Turkish Desk Chief Lorenzo Giorgianni. Babacan was accompanied by Treasury deputy undersecretaries at the meeting, during which macroeconomic developments, monetary and budget policies and structural reforms were discussed. As part of its contacts in Turkey, the IMF delegation arrived in Istanbul last Wednesday. The delegation is expected to discuss the latest economic developments, improvements in structural reforms and the completion of the review in Ankara with officials from the public sector. /Aksam/

C-17 CARGO PLANES START LANDINGS AT INCIRLIK
In the wake of the Cabinet’s decision to approve an annual extension of Turkish permission for the use of Incirlik Airbase, C-17 cargo planes belonging to the US Air Force have started to land at the airbase. Incirlik Air Headquarters officials said that four C-17 cargo planes landed at Incirlik late last week. They added that logistic supply materials such as tents, food, drinks, clothes and spare parts would be transferred to Iraq and Afghanistan through Incirlik. /Aksam/

EARTHQUAKE HITS EASTERN ANATOLIA
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 on the Richter scale followed by at least 10 aftershocks yesterday hit the Karliova region of the eastern Anatolian city of Bingol. The tremor caused panic among people in the region and injured some 50 people, said officials. /Hurriyet/

ANKARA UNIVERSITY PLANS CONFERENCE ON ARMENIAN ALLEGATIONS
After a conference at Istanbul’s Bogazici University to debate and question Turkey’s official stance on the so-called Armenian genocide allegations was canceled last month, Ankara University has stepped into the breach. Ankara University Rector Nusret Aras said that the university would organize a conference entitled “The Historical and Political Situation in the Armenian Incidents.” Aras said, “We see this as our task. We will invite people holding divergent opinions.” Stating that the conference participants have not been determined yet, Aras added, “Ankara University is qualified to examine historical issues. As our university can bring together qualified people, I hope we can give some resolution to this complex issue.” /Milliyet/