In Washington, Erdogan holds bilateral talks with world leaders

In Washington, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the weekend met with outgoing US President George W. Bush, as well as Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and his Italian and German counterparts on the sidelines of a G-20 meeting on the global economic crisis. Erdogan also spoke with representatives of US President-elect Barack Obama for about 45 minutes, including former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Obama's foreign affairs advisor Phil Gordon. Afterwards, Erdogan addressed the meeting of G-20 prime ministers. Erdogan tomorrow will proceed to Geneva, Switzerland to attend the inauguration of a new Chamber for Human Rights and for the Alliance of Civilizations in the local UN office. Erdogan was invited to the occasion by his co-chair on the Alliance of Civilizations project, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the weekend attended a G-20 meeting in Washington, bringing together leaders from major industrialized and developing countries to address the global economic crisis. Before the meeting, Erdogan met with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Khan to outline details of a possible standby agreement with the Fund. Turkey has opposed an IMF standby agreement based on reducing growth and investments. During the G-20 meeting, world leaders resolved to support economic growth policies and to protect investors to help overcome the crisis. In line with these decisions, the IMF softened its attitude on growth and investment, meaning Turkey and the Fund are closer to an agreement than before. Turkey believes that the crisis can only be overcome by boosting growth and reducing government spending. Afterwards, Strauss-Khan told reporters he is sure that Turkey will soon reach an agreement with the Fund, adding that this is needed to stabilize the country's economic situation. IMF First Managing Director John Lipsky also said, "Turkey's economy is raising great hopes. It has a great future. We must assure that this future becomes a reality."