Iran said Turkey could be a venue for Tehran to exchange nuclear material with the West, its foreign minister said in the country's latest counteroffer to a U.N.-drafted deal aimed at thwarting Tehran's ability to produce atomic weapons.

The deal aims to ease concerns Tehran could build a nuclear weapon by removing most of Iran's low-enriched uranium from the country.

Under the proposal, the uranium would be shipped to France and Russia in exchange for more highly enriched fuel rods that are not suitable for use in weapons. The rods, which Iran needs for a research reactor in Tehran, would be returned to the country about a year later.

Source: Alarabiya.net (Dubai-based, Saudi-owned), December 25, 2009

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday began his official talks in Syria after a welcoming ceremony in the capital Damascus. Erdogan met with his Syrian counterpart Muhammad Naji al-Otri after the ceremony, and the two later co-chaired the first prime ministerial-level meeting of the Turkey-Syria High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council. A number of Cabinet ministers also attended, including Interior Minister Besir Atalay and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, and their Syrian counterparts. Syrian President Bashar Assad also attended the landmark gathering. "Turkey sees Syria as a gateway to the Middle Eastern markets of 320 million people," Erdogan told the meeting.

"Turkish banks can open branches in Syria, giving a significant momentum to bilateral trade." He also said Turkey could contribute to Syria in the construction of Latakia airport and privatization bids. On the Middle East peace process, Erdogan said regional peace could be established on firm foundations when Turkey and Syria work hand-in-hand, and thanked Assad for supporting Turkey's mediation between Syria and Israel, which was halted early this year due to the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Also speaking at the meeting, al-Otri said that Turkey and Syria could cooperate in many areas. Stating that region faces many economic and political challenges, al-Otri expressed support for Turkey's efforts to solve regional conflicts through diplomacy and peaceful means. Accusing Israel of unwillingness to continue peace talks, he underlined Turkey's role as a mediator.

"This is essential, and peace can only be ensured thanks to this role," he said. Following the meeting, 51 official documents were signed in various areas, with an eye to deepening bilateral ties and economic integration between the two countries. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Erdogan said, "We can consider today's meeting the first milestone on a long road. We can cooperate in such areas as transportation, the economy, commerce, security, local administrations, energy, water, environment, culture, education and urban transformation." Erdogan said that the agreements must be implemented for the good of future generations. For his part, al-Otri said the meeting had been fruitful. "Our goal is to contribute to the economies of our countries," he said. Al-Otri also hosted a luncheon in Erdogan's honor.

Source: Turkiye (Turkey), December 24, 2009

Turkey doesn't choose its foreign policy path according to outside directives but in line with its own interests, said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday. Speaking at a Turkey-Syria Business Council meeting in Damascus as part of his official visit to Syria, Erdogan again rejected claims of an axis shift in Turkish foreign policy, saying that Turkey will not give up its policy of fostering friendly ties with neighboring countries such as Syria just because some see this as part of a shift from the West to the East. "Not only are we abolishing visas, we will remove other obstacles, too," he said. "We will sign partnerships which could be a model for the world. We have this potential." Erdoğan told the gathering he wants to expand the Turkish-Syrian partnership to the entire region. "Everyone is free to say whatever they want," he said. "But I find these arguments (of an axis shift) ill intentioned. The rapprochement between Turkey and Syria is actually the normalization of bilateral relations. What is wrong is not today's rapprochement, but rather yesterday's distance and the visa issue."

He added, "Development and prosperity in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and other regional countries means nothing on their own. Because we live in a common region. Besides, we have nations that are relatives with each other." Stating that Turkey wants peace, prosperity, stability and security in the region, Erdogan said businesspeople seeking investments in other countries look for stability and confidence. "We have to establish an atmosphere of prosperity, peace, security and stability on the regional scale, not in individual countries," he said.

"So we can't neglect the problems of Syria, Iraq or Lebanon. Their problems affect us too." Erdogan said countries should act with solidarity and cooperate more in order to reach such goals. On economic relations, Erdogan said he was pleased to see "excitement" between Turkey and Syria, adding that their steps would influence other countries in the region. Erdogan said Turkey is Syria's gateway to the Black Sea, the Caucasus and Europe, while Syria is Turkey's gateway to the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf region. Erdogan also said that their bilateral trade volume, which stood at $2 billion last year, should be raised to $5 billion in the next three to four years.

"We have the political will to do that. Hopefully, we will succeed," he said. "Turkish and Syrian businessmen can invest in third countries by establishing joint companies." Erdogan also touted his Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) economic performance over the last seven years, as it nearly tripled the country's gross domestic product from $230 billion to $742 billion.

Source: Star (Turkey), December 24, 2009

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday reiterated Turkey's readiness to resume mediating indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria if it is asked. After meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, as part of an official visit, Erdogan told reporters, "Turkey will do what it has to do if a new peace process is launched. We are ready to re-engage if we are called to this duty." Erdogan said while Syria favors Turkey's mediation, Israel doesn't currently want Ankara's involvement and is seeking French mediation instead. "Our Syrian brothers have agreed to Turkey's mediation, but Israel doesn't favor it. And we can't push this unless Israel agrees too," Erdogan said.

Turkey last year mediated five rounds of indirect talks before they collapsed following the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Erdogan has publicly criticized Israeli aggression against Palestine. For his part, Assad criticized Israeli criticisms that Turkey acted subjectively in its mediation of the talks last year. "Turkey's attitude was objective, and this is what Israel disliked," he said. Turkey has made great efforts for peace in the Middle East, Assad said. "Turkey is one of the giant actors that plays a role for peace in the Middle East," he said. Turkey and Syria do want peace in the Middle East, but the process has ups and downs, Assad said. "Everyone is aware of Turkey's attitude on Gaza," he added.

"Everyone wants to see an end to the embargo on Gaza. A Turkish convoy passed through Syria and carried humanitarian assistance to Gaza. I thank the Turkish people for their generosity." Touching on the agreements signed by Turkey and Syria during Erdogan's visit, Asad said that the deals place great responsibility on the two countries. Businesspeople of both countries have an important role to play, he added. Asked whether efforts against the terrorist PKK had been brought up during bilateral talks, the two leaders said they had but did not elaborate.

Source: Sabah (Turkey), December 24, 2009

Erzincan Attorney General and Erzurum Attorney General could not agree on who will conduct the investigation on the Islamic Ismailaga and Fethullah Gulen communities. Erzincan Attorney General Ilhan Cihaner sues the private authorized Erzurum Attorney General Osman Sanal in court for acting against the law in the investigation.

Cihaner stated in the petition that he submitted to the court that Sanal violated the secrecy of the investigation and thus damaged it. He also mentioned that the leaders of the community contacted the political representatives and when the warnings and requests did not reach any results, they thought that the problem could be solved by a private authorized Attorney General. Cihaner also said that the transfer of the court case from Erzincan to Erzurum made the suspects very happy.

Source: Cumhuriyet (Turkey), December 23, 2009

After some members of National Intelligence Organization and gendarmerie intelligence were arrested in Erzincan and Erzurum by the order of the Erzurum private authorized prosecutor, the Republican CHP parliament member and the member of the Human Rights Commission at parliament, Ahmet Ersin, said that this event had nothing to do with the Ergenekon investigation but the main purpose was to give a message that those who touched the religious communities would get into trouble. Ersin said that neither the National Intelligence Organization members nor the gendarmerie intelligence knew why they were arrested and were asked whether they were meeting with the Erzincan Chief Public Prosecutor.

Ersin said that the Erzincan Chief Public Prosecutor’s investigation on the Islamic Ismailaga religious community had nothing to do with the Ergenekon investigation. He stated that after 16 suspects were arrested for the case of Islamic Ismailaga religious community for collecting money against the law and giving illegal education to children between the ages 8 to 10, Minister Cemil Cicek called the prosecutor and told him to release the suspects. Ersin said that after the prosecutor refused to release them and decide to continue the investigation, the case was taken away from him and was given to the private authorized prosecutor.

Ersin stated that after this event the intelligence organization of the state in Erzincan collapsed.

Source: Cumhuriyet, ntvmsnbc (Turkey), December 22, 2009

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is in an official visit to Syria, called upon the Turkish tourists to visit the beautiful sites of Syria and the “Syrian brothers” to visit Turkey. Erdogan said that they would not stop by the abolition of visa requirements but they would also eliminate other obstacles.

Erdogan said that they intended to form partnerships that would set an example to the world and they had the potential to become the future actor of the Middle East. He stated that they would not only improve the relations between Turkey and Syria but also would strengthen the peace infrastructure in the Middle East. He said that the right thing was the rapprochement between Turkey and Syria and the wrong thing was the distance and coolness between the countries.

Erdogan stated that they wanted to establish regional stability and they could not stay indifferent to what was happening in Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon. He said that they had to increase the cooperation between the countries and he felt touched when he visited Syria and when the Saudi king visited Syria or when Bashar Assad traveled there.

Source: habervaktim (Turkey), December 23, 2009

Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said that Iran was not the business of NATO and the tension that would emerge on this issue would not lead to a result where one side would win over the other. He said that this subject was important to Turkey because she lost a lot from such tensions in the past. He stated that when there were embargos to Iraq, Turkey was affected negatively and the purpose of Turkey was not to mediate and everyone already knew that Turkey was successful in this subject.

Davutoglu said that Turkey did not feel any threats from the neighboring countries. He emphasized that the security concept of NATO was directed towards threats against the NATO countries. He said that the threat definition to the NATO members should be re-assessed and developed. He stated that Turkey was never situated in any axis in the region before and that there was a belief that some people in the Western alliance decide and Turkey should apply this. He said that Turkey had the right to decide where to from the axis as any other country in the organization.

Source: Yeni Safak (Turkey), December 23, 2009

Interior Minister Besir Atalay met with Iraqi Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq yesterday, a day after tripartite mechanism meetings in Baghdad between Turkey, the US and Iraq to discuss joint measures against the terrorist PKK. Atalay met with northern Iraqi regional Kurdish administration leader Massoud Barzani and Prime Minister Barham Saleh. On Sunday, Atalay said the second session of a counter-terrorism meeting would be held in Erbil, following the first session in Baghdad. Speaking to reporters after the latter meeting, Atalay said they had reviewed the contributions made by the tripartite mechanism and measures taken by all three countries over the last year.

"New concrete measures and decisions that will considerably boost joint efforts by Turkey, Iraq and the US to destroy the PKK were assessed during today's meeting," Atalay said, pointing to progress achieved through concrete steps taken by the tripartite mechanism. "Moreover, a road map was developed." Iraqi Security Minister Sherwan al-Waili said on Sunday that he spoke at length with Turkish officials about the Makhmour refugee camp. "We're trying to find a joint solution for this camp," al-Waili said. "We want to close it, as it poses a threat to the security of both countries." Speaking to reporters after his meetings in Baghdad and Erbil, Atalay said his talks would have greatly help steps to eliminate the terrorist PKK.

"I believe Turkey's cooperation with Iraq would take on a new dimension and yield results," he said. "I believe that we will see tangible results from our two days of talks. Very strong messages were relayed, and there were serious exchanges of information." He added, "We once again relayed our requests and expectations that further steps be taken to eliminate the terrorist PKK." Atalay said that in addition to Massoud Barzani and Saleh, he met with Karim Sinjari, the regional Kurdish administration's interior minister. "We expressed our determination to put an end to PKK terrorism," he said. "We also explained the steps taken by the Turkish government on the matter. We discussed ways to cooperate against separatist terrorism in northern Iraq."

Source: Hurriyet (Turkey), December 22, 2009

President Abdullah Gül left Ankara yesterday for an official visit to Kuwait, the first visit at that level in 12 years, at the invitation of the Kuwaiti head of state, Sheikh Sabah IV Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who currently heads the rotating presidency of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Speaking to reporters before his departure, Gul said, "In meetings in Kuwait, we will look at relations between Kuwait and Turkey and discuss how to improve our trade ties and how to expand relations into other areas."

During his two-day stay, Gul is being accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan and Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) head Rifat Hisarciklioglu, along with other businessmen and lawmakers. Gül added that he will share his views on recent developments in the region, as well as participate in a meeting of the Turkey-Kuwait Business Forum. Stating that Kuwait, one of the world's biggest oil producers, is soon set to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in its infrastructure, Gul said there are big business opportunities for Turkish contractors and consultants there, and expressed hope that his visit would add momentum to bilateral relations. Gul also said that negotiations are continuing between Turkey and the Gulf countries, including Kuwait, over a free trade agreement.

On the first day of his visit, Gul and Al-Sabah chaired an interdelegational meeting, and he was presented by Al-Sabah with a High Order of the Kuwaiti State. Attending a dinner given in his honor by Al-Sabah, Gul also received Deputy Kuwaiti Parliament Speaker Abdullah al-Roumi as well as Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Jabir al-Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah.

Source: Turkiye (Turkey), December 22, 2009