Gül promotes Turkey in New York

   President Abdullah Gül could play a minimizing role in what United States investors call political risks for Turkey in 2008, Turkey analysts said after Gül's 48-hour trip to New York.

     Gül's short visit to New York followed a meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington. Gül conveyed his message as president to the international community and to financial circles in New York, and also met the United Nations General Secretary Ban-Ki-Moon and spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations. 

  The leading geopolitical American consultancy firm, Eurasia Group, released a report on 2008's political risks the day Gül arrived in Washington. Predictions on Turkey by the New York-based firm suggested that tension will remain high between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Turkey's secularist forces, particularly the military, while Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's plan to overhaul the constitution could intensify confrontation. “In Turkey, [the risk] is largely internal, not geopolitical,” said the report. With the outlook of the report in mind, the American business world watched Gül's first New York trip as president very carefully, according to Turkey analysts on Wall Street.

  Political analysts tried to get answers to two main questions on their minds by reading between the lines of Gül's speeches: What kind of president will he be? and What will his role be in Turkish-American relations?

  Wall Street remembers Gül was prime minister when the Turkish Parliament did not allow the United States to use Turkish air bases at the beginning of the American invasion of Iraq. However, Gül's good record as foreign minister has not been forgotten either. Given this conflicting perspective, analysts believe Gül gave two underlying messages during his New York visit. He will be a president who believes in diplomacy and will be active in foreign policy. He will also be a genial, soft-spoken ombudsman for Turkey in the international arena. Both messages were very important for analysts because Gül still appears to be a supporter of what business circles consider the anchors of Turkey, the European Union and International Monetary Fund. With his visit to America's finance capital, Gül appears to have said to Wall Street pundits that he will have similar characteristics as president as when he was foreign minister. “His words are almost a guarantee for us that as president, Gül will never let the conflict between the military and the AKP become a train wreck,” said an analyst who wished to remain anonymous.  

  Gül also met Turkish and American businessmen in New York, where he gave the message that in 2008 Turkey will still be in one of the most advantageous places among emerging markets. Turkey offers an opportunity for American investors to open up to the Middle East and Eurasia, Gül said.

  The other highlight of Gül's visit to New York was his speech at the Council on Foreign Relations. He spoke about the strategic partnership between Turkey and the United States and said the two allies will be working together on a variety of topics, with terrorism of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) being one of the most important ones.

  Gül then met some of the most important figures of the Democratic party, including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and her former Assistant Deputy Richard Holbrooke. This was a clear message that Ankara will be working closely with whichever party wins the White House in November, political pundits said.