Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has expressed satisfaction over President Abdullah Gul's acceptance of an invitation from his Armenian counterpart to watch a World Cup qualifying soccer match between the Turkish and Armenian national teams in Yerevan.

"President Gül's decision to accept or reject an invitation from Armenia will have a considerable impact on the improvement or deterioration of Turkey's image in the international arena. If he had declined to go to Yerevan, everyone would have criticized Turkey for refusing to improve ties with Armenia. If Armenia had ulterior motives when inviting Gül to the soccer game, then Gül spoiled their plan by accepting the invitation," stated Erdoğan, who spoke to reporters on a plane en route to Ankara from Damascus. Erdoğan was in Syria on Thursday to attend a quadripartite summit in Damascus with French, Syrian and Qatari leaders, who convened to discuss Lebanon and the situation in the Middle East. Erdoğan stressed that Gül's visit to Yerevan will be an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen peace plans in the Caucasus.

Asked what he thinks about main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal's tough stance against Gül's visit to Yerevan, Erdoğan said Gül will not organize his agenda in accordance with Baykal's reactions./Today's Zaman/

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