US secretary of state Rice to visit Turkey

Rice will arrive at Ankara’s Esenboga airport Saturday evening and she will meet with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan there, who will leave for tsunami-stricken south Asian countries at the airport.

The top US diplomat is also expected to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who will arrive in Turkey Saturday.

On Sunday, Rice will meet with Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul.

Turkish sources said Gul and Rice are expected to talk about recent elections in Iraq, developments in the northern Iraqi cityof Kirkuk and bilateral ties.

The European and Middle East tour is Rice’s first overseas trip after she was appointed secretary of state.

She will visit Britain,Germany, Poland, Israel, the Palestinian lands, Italy, France,Belgium, Luxemburg and Turkey. Enditem