PM Erdoğan plans talks with US President Obama in December

Erdoğan's remarks on the planned visit came in New York on Tuesday while speaking with Turkish reporters, the Anatolia news agency reported. The prime minister has been in New York since Monday to attend the UN General Assembly.

While US Embassy officials in Ankara referred Today's Zaman to the White House when asked about the planned visit, Turkish Foreign Ministry officials in Ankara were not immediately able to provide information. Obama had paid a landmark two-day visit to Turkey in early April as part of a European tour and also as the last leg of his maiden trip on the world stage as president. It was widely considered a nod to Turkey's regional reach, economic power, diplomatic contacts and status as a secular democracy seeking European Union membership that has accommodated political Islam.

It was also his first official trip to a predominantly Muslim country as president, a visit closely watched in the Islamic world.

Ahead of his visit to the United States, Erdoğan faced harsh allegations by opposition parties suggesting that the aim of his visit was to get US approval for his government's recent initiative on resolution of the Kurdish issue as well as on Armenia and Turkey's recent declaration of its desire for normalization of bilateral ties through parliamentary approval of two protocols following internal debate.

While in Turkey, Obama appealed for reconciliation between Ankara and Yerevan. Obama, who pledged to recognize the Armenian diaspora's genocide claims in his election campaign, avoided using the g-word in his traditional April 24 message.

In an address to the Turkish Parliament, Obama then praised the government for steps such as lifting bans on teaching and broadcasting in Kurdish, saying that the world noted with respect the important signal sent through a new state-run Kurdish television station.

 Erdoğan has already called on opposition leaders to support a national unity project, also known as the democratization initiative, with the ultimate aim of reaching a comprehensive resolution to the decades-old Kurdish question by granting more rights to the country's Kurdish citizens, while speaking to reporters in Ankara ahead of his departure for the US.

Speaking to Turkish reporters, Erdoğan touched upon the same issue, particularly on remarks by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader, who has indicated that Erdoğan traveled to the US to inform the US administration about the government's democratization initiative.

“We haven't come here for the democratization initiative. [CHP leader Deniz Baykal] is acting as if we have come here to give an account of something; this is a shame,” Erdoğan was quoted as saying by Anatolia. “This is first of all a disrespectful manner against the Republic of Turkey. This harms Turkey. It's so awful to make such an epithet,” he said, underlining the importance of both the UN General Assembly and the upcoming meeting of the Group of 20 industrialized and developing countries.

Erdoğan will attend the G-20 meeting, which is scheduled to be held on Sept. 24-25 in the US city of Pittsburgh. “The agenda of the G-20 summit is obviously not the democratization initiative. The agenda of the meeting is set and that's the global financial crisis,” he said.

Bilateral talks

When asked whether he would have any contact with Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan while in the US, Erdoğan replied that Sarksyan has not been scheduled to attend the UN General Assembly according to his information. There is no meeting exactly scheduled to take place between any Armenian and Turkish officials either, he said.

Turkish newspapers have reported that Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu will meet with his Armenian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, on the sidelines of the gathering.

Erdoğan also said he might hold a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if any request is conveyed by the Israeli side.

As of Tuesday, Erdoğan had separate talks with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, while also delivering a speech on the UN-led Alliance of Civilizations initiative at the State University of New York-based Levin Institute.

During his visit to the US, Erdoğan has been accompanied by Davutoğlu, Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, Chief EU negotiator Egemen Bağış and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek as well as by Turkey's permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Ertuğrul Apakan, and Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ambassador Feridun Sinirlioğlu.