Baykal: President Is Determined That Political Frame Will Be Shaped Up

ANKARA - Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said on Thursday that he saw that President Ahmet Necdet Sezer was determined that political frame would be shaped up by regarding the interests of the country after the elections.
Following his meeting with Sezer, Baykal told reporters that the president congratulated him as the leader of the political party which entered parliament after the November 3 elections.
Baykal said that he told Sezer that they were determined to shoulder Turkey's problems in cooperation of the government and the opposition after the elections.
''The president expressed pleasure with this. He expressed pleasure about our cooperation. He also expressed expectation that this cooperation would be developed in a concrete way in coming days especially about the European Union (EU) membership,'' Baykal noted.
Baykal added, ''I saw that the president had a determination that the political frame will be shaped up carefully by regarding the interests of the country after the elections. It is seen that the president has a special position in this period. And, our president is aware of this. The president will be in an effort to direct a close cooperation between the ruling and opposition party. I got this impression during our meeting.''

BAYKAL: DURING MY MEETING WITH PRESIDENT SEZER, ISSUE OF APPOINTMENT OF PRIME MINISTER WAS NOT BROUGHT ONTO AGENDA
Addressing journalists following the meeting, Baykal said, ''issues such as Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) candidates for prime ministry, and appointment of the new prime minister were not taken up.''
Responding to a question, Baykal told reporters, ''the President has an important position in the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey. Earlier, I said that position of the President has gained more importance following the general elections. Only two parties will have seats at the parliament for the first time after years. Also, 45 percent of the voters is not represented at the parliament. The President is the representative of the whole nation. He is the guarantee of harmony and cooperation among state institutions. In such an atmosphere, the President's role will have a special importance.''
Baykal said that Sezer did not make any recommendation or proposal about the agenda of the parliament.
When he was reminded about the statements of the AK Party spokesmen that some boards, particularly the Banking Regulation and Supervision Board, would be liquidated, Baykal said, ''let's discuss this issue on a more appropriate ground. This issue did not come onto the agenda during our meeting with the president. We will have the opportunity to discuss this issue in the coming days.''
Asked if Sezer expressed his concern about the votes reflected to the parliament, Baykal said, ''we did not discuss this issue. We did not evaluate how many votes were reflected and how many were not with the president. I have stated my view that the president will undertake an important mission in the coming days. I also stated this during our meeting.''
Baykal expressed belief that Sezer would fulfil the requirements of the frame that occured with the election results in line with the Constitution.
Responding to a question, Baykal said that Cyprus question did not come onto the agenda during their meeting. However, he noted, he saw that the president was pleased that the ruling and the opposition parties were in cooperation for EU membership.
Baykal said, ''I saw that the president expects us to make cooperation about the EU membership. In fact, we are doing what is necessary.''
Sezer made some recommendations and suggestions about the EU membership, Baykal added.