Athisaari and the ICT delegation to arrive Turkey today

Former Finnish President Martti Athisaari, who has gained a reputation thanks to his "mediation work" at points of conflict and also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008, will arrive in Turkey today along with members of the Independent Commission on Turkey (ICT). As part of his visit, Athisaari will meet with EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis at a dinner today, which will also be attended by Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Foreign Minister Huseyin Ozgurgun, and also President Abdullah Gul and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu tomorrow. As Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is currently visiting South Africa, he won't be involved in the program. Athisaari and the ICT members will also hold contacts with Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu and Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) leader Selahattin Demirtas. Speaking to the Aksam daily, Open Society Foundation Secretary General Gokce Tuyluoglu said that the ICT delegation chaired by Athisaari had previously prepared two reports in Turkey in 2004 and 2009 and now they would prepare a new report. She added that they wanted to closely follow the political developments in Turkey and meet with decision makers.