ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001575 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 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2008 In Today's Papers President Gul to Visit Yerevan Media outlets predict President Gul will decide to accept the invitation of President Sarkisian for going to Yerevan and report on it in a very positive manner. Liberal Radikal carries a banner headline, "Turkish President is going to Yerevan," saying "President Gul will attend the football match on September 6 between the Turkish and Armenian national teams." Mainstream Hurriyet notes, "The Foreign Ministry is worried about anti-Turkey groups because of strong anti-Turkey slogans during a match between junior national teams from the two countries in Yerevan two weeks ago." Leftist-nationalist Cumhuriyet speculates that President Gul's trip will only last three hours, while leftist Taraf supports Gul's trip "regardless of what opposition figures are saying." Meanwhile liberal Radikal and other papers highlight criticism from MHP leader Bahceli that "such an effort will only cause a serious blow to Turkey's national pride and will be an historic mistake. Given Armenia's anti-Turkey policy and the Armenia-PKK relationship, a trip to Yerevan would not be legitimate or politically correct." Editorial Commentary on Gul to Yerevan Nuray Mert wrote in liberal-intellectual Radikal: "Turkey must normalize its relations with Armenia, and should be able to debate the Armenian issue in a composed way. If the Turkish President goes to Yerevan it will certainly be an historic event. The rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia would also benefit US foreign policy interests. Turkey should not pull away from the Armenian issue which of international interest whether we like it or not. Instead of being defensive against international efforts, Turkey must lead and shape the agenda on the Armenian issue." Fehmi Koru wrote in Islamist leaning Yeni Safak: "If President Gul goes to Yerevan, understandably he wants to, his visit will have more impact than a usual soccer match between the two national teams. There are problems between the two countries, but these problems should not be an obstacle to recognition of each other. In addition, Armenia suffers more than Turkey from this no-official-recognition situation. President Gul should go to Yerevan, and we should both win the game, and win hearts and minds." Erdal Safak questioned in mainstream Sabah: "If President Gul doesn't go to Yerevan, it will be disappointing for many intellectuals, academics, businessmen, NGOs, media, the EU countries and the Bush Administration. The Presidential Palace should be very careful in its messages about the visit so that Armenians do not have high expectations ( example: opening the borders, lifting trade bans, etc.). The Kremlin should not think that this visit is an effort to isolate Armenia from Russia. Every effort should be exerted to minimize Azerbaijan's bad feelings about this visit. More importantly, Yerevan should be told that any positive developments on Turkey-Armenia and Azerbaijan-Armenia relations, from now on, will depend on Armenia's stance." Okay Gonensin wrote in mainstream Vatan: "President Gul should not listen to the extreme voices in Turkey, and should definitely go to Yerevan. Of course, Yerevan also has the responsibility to treat this visit positively, and should not listen to its own radicals either. The message Gul and Serkisyan will give to the world through a football game is very important. This first sign of improvement of Turkish-Armenian relations can have only positive results." Government Shelves Trade Retaliation Against Russia Media outlets report that the proposal made by State Minister Kursad Tuzmen for Turkey to begin implementing reciprocal measures against Russian trade in response to blockage by Russian customs of Turkish exports was not approved by the Council of Ministers. Mainstream ANKARA 00001575 002 OF 003 Hurriyet reports "State Minister and Government Spokesman Cemil Cicek said the Cabinet did not make a decision to take measures against Russia," adding "I hope recent trade problems between Turkey and Russia will be resolved during Russian FM Lavrov's scheduled visit to Turkey on September 2." Islamist-oriented Zaman reports "the commercial crisis with Russia, which began after the Russians blocked the entry of hundreds of Turkish commercial trucks into Russia, will be handled at the table during Lavrov's visit, not at customs." Prime Minister Erdogan at the Victory Day celebrations told journalists, "Following the developments in Georgia, some powers have tried to push us to side with the US or Russia. The US is our closest ally. Russia is a very important energy resource for Turkey and an important trading partner. I will not allow Turkey to be pushed to one side only. We will act according to Turkey's national interests." Editorial Commentary on Russia-Turkey-Caucasus Hadi Uluengin wrote in mainstream Hurriyet: "Obviously Russia has no intention to backpedal in the current tension. The difficulty created in the flow of Turkish trucks to Russia is not an ordinary incident. Moscow is imposing a de facto embargo on Turkey, and at the same time issuing threats to the Western community via Turkey. Turkey is trying to stay calm in the face of Moscow's attitude, however, if Russia continues to escalate tension with the West, Ankara will eventually be forced to make its choice. That choice must be to side with the West." Erdogan to Join Middle East Summit in Damascus All papers report that on September 4, the Prime Minister will go to Damascus for a summit meeting to be attended by EU Term President, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Gulf Cooperation Organization Term President, Qatar's Emir Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani, and the Arab League Term President, Syria's Head of State Bashar al-Asad. The summit is expected to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, Iraq, and Lebanon, according to papers. Turkish-Greek Cypriot Leaders to Meet September 3 Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Cumhuriyet, Taraf, Radikal, Zaman and others report Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders Mehmet Ali Talat and Demetris Christofias will meet September 3 to discuss the procedure to be followed in direct negotiations for a settlement in Cyprus. Leftist Taraf reports that on July 25, both sides in Cyprus had agreed to open the Yesilirmak border gate for civilian visits to both sides. In the beginning of August, 1,200 Turkish Cypriots crossed the gate. The Greek Cypriots, however, were blocked by the Turkish Peace Force from using the gate to join a mass in a church in northern Cyprus Sunday. Taraf says the move had been a last-minute blow to Turkish Cypriot leader Talat, ands warns that the intervention of the military could hamper the direct talks in the divided island. Gustav Forces Republicans to Tone Down Media outlets cover the Republican Convention by focusing on the fact that Hurricane Gustav forced the Republicans to scale down their convention and its highly partisan speeches. Mainstream Hurriyet carries the headline, "Gustav Opposition," as "Republican Party presidential nominee McCain called off most of the convention activities saying "we'll act like Americans, not like Republicans.'" Islamist-oriented Yeni Safak writes in "Gustav Hit McCain," that "following Democrat Party presidential nominee Barack Obama announcing his nomination officially, the Republican convention was hit by Hurricane Gustav." Mainstream Milliyet carries the headline, "McCain Will Fix Image With Gustav," as "Gustav made President Bush and VP Cheney cancel their programs, Senator McCain turned this to his favor and escaped the risk of refreshing the memory of the bad handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005." TV News: ANKARA 00001575 003 OF 003 CNN Turk Domestic News - Having delivered aid to the Georgian port city of Batumi, the American destroyer USS McFaul passed through the Bosporus on its way back to the Aegean Sea. - Four Turkish gendarme soldiers killed by PKK terrorists on Sunday in the southeastern province of Bingol have been laid to rest in their hometowns yesterday. - Energy Minister Hilmi Guler will travel to Turkmenistan on Monday and Kazakhstan tomorrow to discuss oil and natural gas matters. International News - Tens of thousands of protestors staged an anti-Russian rally in the Georgian capital Tbilisi. - Iran denies reports it had bought Russia's advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missile system. - On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan will travel to Jeddah to participate in talks to activate a "senior level strategic dialogue" mechanism between Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). WILSON