Intense diplomacy traffic in Ankara

ANKARA (AA) – European Parliament President Pat Cox will come to Turkey as the guest of Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc between March 1 and 4.

Cox will meet with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul and Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal.

Cox will also have meetings in Istanbul and Canakkale.

Thomas Weston, the special coordinator of the US State Department for Cyprus, will come to Ankara after completing his meetings in Cyprus and Athens. Weston will have meetings in Foreign Ministry on March 3.

Gul will meet with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on March 3 in Istanbul. Straw will attend a ceremony to be held at British Consulate General in Istanbul.

The European Union Troika will have meetings in Ankara on March 8.

The delegation will comprise of Foreign Minister Brian Cowen of current EU Term President Ireland, Foreign Minister Bernard Bot of next EU Term President the Netherlands and EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen.

Meanwhile, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Pasi is expected to pay a visit to Ankara on March 11.

TRNC PRESIDENT DENKTAS DUE TO TURKEY

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas will go to Ankara on Wednesday to attend an international conference.

Denktas will make a speech at the conference titled "Turkey-European Union (EU) Relations and Cyprus Question" that will be held by Ankara Trade Chamber.

Denktas will return to TRNC the same day.

GROSSMAN DUE TO TURKEY

US State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said in a news conference on Friday that Grossman would visit Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Bahrain in the Middle East and Turkey and Brussels in Europe between February 29-March 5.

When asked if the visit of Grossman to Turkey was related to solution efforts in Cyprus, Boucher said that the issue could come to agenda during Grossman’s visit, but the main aim of the visit was other issues. Recalling that US State Department’s Special Coordinator for Cyprus Thomas Weston would leave for the region on Saturday, Boucher said that it was Weston who was dealing with Cyprus issue.

When asked about the role of NATO in security of Cyprus, Boucher said that the security of the island was part of the continuing negotiations. He stressed that the security of the island could be ensured the best with a comprehensive solution.

US State Department Undersecretary Marc Grossman will visit Ankara within "Big Middle East" project of the United States aiming to support democratic reforms in Middle East countries. Grossman who will come to Ankara on March 4 will search for cooperation opportunities of Washington and Ankara for supporting reform process in the region.