ERDOGAN TO PAY VISITS TO AZERBAIJAN, US
Prime Ministry spokesman Akif Beki yesterday told reporters that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to travel to Azerbaijan tomorrow for the first time in his capacity as prime minister. Erdogan will meet with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues. Beki added that the premier is scheduled to fly to California on July 5 to address the Sun Valley Conference. /Star/

SWEDISH PARLIAMENTARIANS VISIT ERDOGAN
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday received Swedish Parliament Speaker Bjoern von Sydow accompanied by a delegation on a visit to Turkey. During their talks, Erdogan reportedly thanked Sydow for Sweden’s support to Turkey’s European Union membership bid. Expressing his pleasure at developing trade relations between the two countries, the premier called on Swedish businessmen to invest in Turkey. In addition, Erdogan yesterday sent a congratulatory message to Iran’s newly elected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. /Turkiye/

GUL TO ATTEND OIC MEETING IN YEMEN
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday left for Sana, Yemen, to attend an Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting. During the three-day gathering, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Mideast peace process, the Afghanistan, Iraq and Cyprus issues, OIC reforms, UN reforms and the fight against terrorism as well as problems of Muslims living in non-OIC member countries will be discussed. As an observer member, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) will be represented at the meeting for first time under the name the “Turkish Cypriot State.” Gul is expected to explain Turkey’s views on various topics and to call on fellow OIC countries to end the TRNC’s international isolation. /Turkiye/

CABINET CONVENES
The Cabinet chaired by Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan convened yesterday. Following the six-hour gathering, Deputy Premier Mehmet Ali Sahin told reporters that bills and proposals to be discussed in Parliament this week as well as the Emergency Action Plan and the Health Transformation Program had been taken up. He added that the government hoped to pass the General Health Insurance bill before Parliament’s summer recess begins this weekend. /Star/

ARINC MEETS WITH SWEDISH PARLIAMENT SPEAKER
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc yesterday met with Swedish Parliament Speaker Bjorn von Sydow. Following the meeting, the two speakers issued joint press statement. Arinc requested that Sweden continue its support for Turkey’s EU membership during its membership talks to start on Oct. 3. For his part, Sydow said that all 349 deputies of the Swedish Parliament favored the beginning of Turkey’s membership talks with the EU. Answering a reporter’s question, Sydow said, “In accordance with agreements made with Turkey last December, we want membership talks to start on Oct. 3.” /Aksam/

BLAIR: “THE CRITERIA FOR TURKEY CAN’T BE CHANGED FOR POLITICAL REASONS”
The European Union criteria for Turkey’s membership bid cannot be changed over shifting political winds, said British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday. "In respect of Turkey, I think what is important is that we make it very clear that the criteria that the European Union have set out, and that apply to every member state, those criteria have to be obeyed in full, and that is that Turkey should not be discriminated against, neither should they be discriminated in favor," he told a monthly press conference. "Sometimes I think people in Europe feel that we will kind of bend the criteria for political reasons, I think in the case of Turkey it is very important to emphasize that the criteria are absolute and must be met in full." Asked what might happen if a party opposed to Turkey’s membership won upcoming elections in Germany, he said he would continue to work with whatever party comes to power. Blair added that they are trying to prepare Iraq’s security forces and that it would be premature to set a date for withdrawal from Iraq. /Turkiye/

BAYKAL MEETS WITH LIKELY EX-MAYORS
Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday met with a group of mayors likely to lose their jobs after their town’s populations dropped below 2,000 in the last census. Baykal said that de-incorporating these municipalities and turning them into villages was unacceptable. He added that the CHP would try to prevent this and appeal to the Constitutional Court if necessary. /Turkiye/

BULGARIAN COALITION LEADER SEEKS TO CHANGE TURKS’ NAMES
Extreme nationalist Bulgarian “Attack” coalition leader Volen Siderov, whose bloc got 8% of the vote and won Parliament seats in last weekend’s Bulgarian elections, said in a radio interview yesterday that he favored changing the names of ethnic Turks living in Bulgaria. Siderov called for Turkish broadcasts on Bulgarian National Television to cease and said that Turkish people should carry the Bulgarian suffixes “ov” or “ova” in their surnames. “For example, Hasan should be Hasanov,” he said. “Everybody will see that Bulgaria belongs to the Bulgarian people.” These views of Siderov, who seeks to imitate the assimilation campaign carried out by former dictator Todor Jivkov in the 1980s, has led to concern among the country’s democrats. /Milliyet, Sabah/

TRNC’S TALAT: “THE GREEKS TURNED DOWN MY OFFER”
Speaking at a monthly press conference yesterday, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat said that the TRNC had offered to give Greek Cypriots the area of Maras during meetings between the two sides in Brussels earlier this month but that the Greek Cypriots had rejected this offer. Talat said that the Greek Cypriots had proposed a moratorium on construction in the TRNC and getting Maras in return for ending their opposition to direct EU trade, and that the TRNC offered to give Maras if the Greeks lifted all the restrictions, including cultural and social ones, independently from EU regulations. However, the Greek Cypriots rejected this offer, although they have reportedly wanted this for some time. /Hurriyet/

TRNC’S DENKTAS, TALAT TO VISIT SEZER
Former Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas and current TRNC President Mehmet Ali Talat will visit Turkey separately this summer. Denktas will visit Turkey on July 6 to receive a state honorary medal at a ceremony at the Cankaya Presidential Palace with the participation of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. Denktas will arrive in Ankara on Aug. 2. He will pay an official visit to Turkey as Sezer’s guest and meet with Sezer. /Cumhuriyet/

THE OBSERVER RECOMMENDS HOLIDAYS IN TURKEY
British daily The Observer over the weekend praised Turkey as an attractive holiday destination. “You get your money’s worth in Turkey more than any other European country,” wrote reporter Rebecca Seal. “Before leaving our hotel we also went to a restaurant and played a good knife and fork. In addition to the advisable prices of the hotels, the foods are also sold at a good price.” /Turkiye/