NEWS SCAN for Turkey – Sept 12th, 2013

Down below you will find a summary of topics from major Turkish papers and internet sites

Turkish PM Erdoğan doubtful President Bashar al-Assad to keep his word about chemical weapons

In a speech in Istanbul Erdoğan said “The Assad regime has not lived up to any of its pledges, it has won time for new massacres and continues to do so. We are doubtful that the promises regarding chemical weapons will be met.” The PM added he believed Assad was buying time for new “massacres”.

“Death is death. It is not important whichever weapon – chemical or not – was used. We should put all the weapons used in Syria in the same category,” Erdoğan said. He added  that Turkey would stick to its open-door policy for people coming from Syria.”

Assad’s government has recently said Syria is ready to comply with a Russian plan to surrender Syria’s chemical weapons to international control to try to win a possible reprieve from a U.S. military strike.

President Gül says political exit strategy necessary in Syria

President Abdullah Gul who spoke at the International Forum on Financial Systems in Istanbul on Wednesday, said, “Here is a country where over 100,000 people have been killed, where a cruel civil war reigns, where people’s cities are destroyed. This must be stopped. There has to be a political strategy as a way out. Otherwise, no one can accept things going as they are.”

He continued to say that the situation in Syria should not be viewed only in terms of chemical weaponry and that the broader situation should be also recognized. “A real political exit strategy is needed to end the civil war in Syria,” Gul said, adding that how saddening it was that such a solution had not yet been brought forward.

 Government criticized for not legislating to harmonize Turkish law with the constitutional articles

On the third anniversary of the constitutional referendum of Sept. 12, 2010, Parliament has yet to bring its legislation into harmony with the amendments the referendum requires, causing grave concerns about the government’s willingness to continue with the reforms required for democratization.

The Turkish public approved the 26 amendments to the Constitution, which was drafted in 1982 during the military era, with a landslide. Yet, 36 months later, some of the pieces of legislation on which Parliament must act for these amendments to be implemented have not even been submitted by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government.

The Nationalist Movement Party’s (MHP) deputy chairman, Mehmet Şandır, told Today’s Zaman that in the past three years the government has not legislated to harmonize Turkish law with the constitutional articles, asserting that the main aim of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) was to dominate the judicial system.

Maliki: We should open a new horizon in Turkish-Iraqi relations

The Iraqi Parliament Speaker Osama al-Nijaifi, paid an official visit to the Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan, in Ankara on Wednesday. Al-Nijaifi and Erdogan reportedly held a meeting for 45 minutes away from media outlets where Nijaifi handed over a message to Erdogan from the Iraqi Premier Nouri al-Maliki, in which the latter invited the two countries to start a new stage to consolidate relations. Upon his meeting with Erdogan, al-Nijaifi and his accompanying delegation paid a courtesy call to Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek. “Turkey and Iraq are like next door neighbors. The better the relations between the neighbors, the more peacefully they can live together. Relations between Iraq and Turkey have been always been based on fraternity and we hope to ameliorate our relations in the future,” Cicek said. The Iraqi Foreign Minister will reportedly be invited to pay an official visit to Turkey so as to open a new page in the bilateral relations and to discuss the Syrian crisis and its impact on the region.

 Turkey’s current account deficit widens

Turkey’s current account deficit, the economy’s main weak spot, widened to a bigger-than-expected $5.786 billion in July, data showed today. Turkey is dependent on volatile foreign capital inflows to finance the deficit – at 7.1 percent of GDP – and uncertainty over the U.S. Federal Reserve’s bond-buying program has left it particularly vulnerable given a huge trade shortfall.

The July deficit, up from a revised $4.626 billion in June, exceeded a Reuters poll forecast for a gap of $5.3 billion. In the first seven months of the year, the deficit widened to $42.099 billion from $34.095 billion a year earlier. Imports were $22.099 billion in July while exports stood at $14.035 billion, resulting in an $8.064 billion trade shortfall.

“The current account deficit remains Turkey’s Achilles’ heel,” said Timothy Ash, head of emerging market research at Standard Bank. The lira slightly weakened to 2.0235 against the dollar after the data from 2.0160 in early trade.

CHP delegations meets Muslim brotherhood in Cairo

As part of a series of meetings taking place throughout their visit in Egypt, Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputies Faruk Logoglu and Osman Korukutuk visited Muslim Brotherhood figures Amr Darrag and Mohamed Ali Beshr early yesterday. Although the details of the meeting remain unknown, it has been reported that the meeting mainly focused on relations between the two countries and recent developments in Egypt.

Islamic Development Bank President: Developing Istanbul into finance center important

President of Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Mohammed Ali Madani said, “Developing Istanbul to be kind of a gateway for world banking and finance is very important.” Speaking at the International Forum on Financial System in Istanbul inaugurated by Turkish President Abdullah Gul under media sponsorship of AA, Madani said he was impressed by the Forum.

“Theme of the forum is very important. Inauguration by President Abdullah Gul gave a very big boost to the forum.“

Stating that Turkey’s role was very significant for economy of the Muslim world, Madani said “Especially the idea of developing Istanbul to be kind of a gateway for world banking and finance is very important”. Reminding that IDB would open an office in Istanbul in the following week, Madani said, “We expect more investors to Istanbul who will benefit the institutions to be established in the city.”

Madani also said Sukuk- bond without interest rate, as well as other Islamic finance tools could be attractive to investors from whole region.

CHP delegations meets Muslim brotherhood in Cairo

As part of a series of meetings taking place throughout their visit in Egypt, Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputies Faruk Logoglu and Osman Korukutuk visited Muslim Brotherhood figures Amr Darrag and Mohamed Ali Beshr early yesterday. Although the details of the meeting remain unknown, it has been reported that the meeting mainly focused on relations between the two countries and recent developments in Egypt.

1209.2013
SOURCE: MEDIA

We do not verify above stories neither do we vouch for their accuracy.