ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 008474 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EUR/SE, EUR/PD, NEA/PD, DRL JCS PASS J-5/CDR S. WRIGHT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR TU SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2002 FOLLOWING REPORT WILL PRESENT A MEDIA REACTION SUMMARY UNDER THREE THEMES: HEADLINES BRIEFING EDITORIAL OPINION -------------- HEADLINES MASS APPEALS Sezer will meet with Bush today - Hurriyet Erdogan: We will join the EU in eight years - Hurriyet Tense atmosphere in Germany - Sabah PM Gul: Lets forget about February 28 - Milliyet New government takes over - All papers Bush invites Gul to the U.S. - Sabah Weston feels pulse in Ankara - Aksam OPINION MAKERS Sezer will be meeting with Bush - Zaman Erdogan couldn't get support in Germany - Cumhuriyet FM Yakis: We can make concessions for Cyprus and ESDP - Cumhuriyet The Washington Post: Iraq bargaining between Turkey-U.S. - Cumhuriyet BRIEFING Sezer-Bush: "Hurriyet" and "Cumhuriyet" have extensive coverage of the Sezer-Bush meeting, which will take place today in Prague. The Cyprus issue, Turkey's EU membership, Iraq, NATO expansion, and bilateral relations are on the Presidents' agenda. On the eve of his Prague trip, President Sezer was briefed by high-level Foreign Ministry officials on the key issues of Turkish foreign policy including Cyprus, Iraq and the EU. "Hurriyet" describes the Bush-Sezer meeting as `historic'. President Sezer will also hold meetings with the French President and the Prime Ministers of Denmark, Italy and Spain. Erdogan's Germany trip: Today's papers give conflicting news on Erdogan's visit to Germany. "Milliyet" reports that Erdogan failed to secure German support for Turkey. Although he was given a warm welcome in Germany, the meeting with Schroeder was reportedly rather distant. In his meeting with Erdogan, Schroeder said that Turkey first had to solve the Cyprus issue, maintain the separation of state and religion, and meet the requirements of democracy. Schroeder also drew attention to a lawsuit filed against German foundations in Turkey, and stressed Germany's sensitivity on this issue. Erdogan in turn urged Schroeder to trust in Turkish justice. During the press conference with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, Erdogan stressed Turkey's readiness for EU accession talks, while Fischer hesitated to give a positive message. However, "Radikal" reports that the result of the meeting with Schroeder was positive. New Government: All papers and TV channels cover ceremonies marking the transfer of power to the new government. "Milliyet" draws attention to messages issued by new Prime Minister Abdullah Gul. Gul was quoted as saying that `We have no secret agenda. Transparency is our guiding principle. Turkey will not experience a new anti- fundamentalist crack down'. Gul added that the first task to be carried out by the government would be to adjust regulations related to state security courts and detention periods. "Milliyet" reports that during the hand-over ceremony at the Prime Ministry, Ecevit drew Gul's attention to three sensitive issues: Cyprus, Iraq and the economy. Most papers report the Bush phone call to Gul from Air Force 1 to congratulate Gul on his new post. "Sabah" reports that during the phone call Bush invited Gul to visit the US in ¶2003. Cyprus: "Cumhuriyet" reports that the US is pressing hard for a breakthrough on Cyprus following Kofi Annan's peace plan announcement. Within this framework, US Cyprus envoy Thomas Weston was in Ankara yesterday for meetings with Foreign Ministry officials. Speaking to the press after his meetings, Weston said that Turkey should review the peace plan carefully to work out a settlement. Weston voiced hope for the new government to make a breakthrough on Cyprus. Washington Post article: "Cumhuriyet" carries the Washington Post story on Ankara - Washington negotiations on an economic and military package for the compensation of the Turkey's losses in the event of an operation in Iraq. CODEL Issa visit: "Radikal" covers the visit with the headline "US delegation in Ankara", and reports that the US congress members met with U/S Ziyal yesterday. Following the meeting with Ziyal, delegation leader Darrell Issa told journalists that `as the only democratic country in the Muslim world, Turkey's views are very important. This dialogue will continue until the regime changes in Iraq'. EDITORIAL OPINION: a) NATO Summit b) UN Cyprus Plan "The Huge Gap" Fikret Ertan notes the military gap between the US and Europe in the Islamic-intellectual Zaman (11/20): "NATO Secretary General Robertson once again emphasized the need SIPDIS to increase NATO's military capabilities due to a series of new threats such as terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Actually, he has been issuing similar warnings for over a year, and has also criticized the Europeans for wasting money on defense. . Robertson is trying to raise awareness on the need for the Alliance to monitor European defense spending, which is now 150 billion Euro, to make sure that it is properly spent. . The fact of the matter is that the gap in military capabilities between the US and Europe has been widening in the post-cold war era. . In contrast with the defense budget cuts that Europe has been making, the US is spending at least twice as much for defense capabilities, and US spending is increasing still further since 9/11. . This is one of the major and important issues at the Prague summit, and the gap is of Turkey's direct concern." "A Tough Plan" Zafer Atay commented in economic/politics Dunya (11/20): "Despite its major downside on the territorial issue, the Kofi Annan plan deserves to be treated seriously. This plan should be the basis for negotiations. The Turkish side can correct the plan's mistakes and carry out a series of fine- tuning of the text by sitting at the negotiating table. That might produce a long-lasting and just agreement between the two sides. On the other hand, the UNSG should extend the deadline. It might also be helpful to the settlement process if a solution is found to prevent Greek blackmailing to the benefit of the Greek Cypriots on the EU enlargement issue."