President Gul visits Macedonia

President Abdullah Gul left for Ohrid, Macedonia yesterday to attend the 15th Summit of Presidents of Central European States. Gul will be the special guest of the summit, which will take place today and tomorrow. He is also scheduled to hold talks with several presidents at the summit. Tomorrow Gul will proceed to the capital Skopje, where he will meet with his Macedonian counterpart Branko Crvenkovski and exchange views on Turkish-Macedonian relations as well as regional and international developments. Gul is also scheduled to meet with the Macedonian Parliament speaker and prime minister. The president is expected to return home on Sunday after visiting Ottoman-era sites in Macedonia. Before leaving yesterday, Gul told reporters at Ankara's Esenboga Airport that he was visiting at the invitation of Macedonia's president. Gul said he would also hold bilateral talks with presidents at the summit about both bilateral relations and regional and international problems. Asked about clashes between security forces and workers on May 1, the president said that everybody would learn a lesson from the incidents and celebrations next year would be better. He also praised unions' last-minute decision canceling plans to gather in Istanbul's Taksim Square.