Prime Minister Erdogan to be honored guest at London 2012 Olympics

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accepted a special invitation extended by UK Prime Minister David Cameron to be an honored guest in his country during the London 2012 Olympics. Erdogan is due to leave for London in the upcoming days, Turkey's Sports Minister Suat Kilic said in a statement while receiving the athletes who won titles in the European Championship during a reception held in Ankara on Monday. According to Kilic, Erdogan and Cameron will together watch events featuring the Turkish wrestler Riza Kayaalp and also the "Fairies of the Net," the Turkish national women's basketball team. As Turkey's Aksam daily reports, the invitation was extended to the prime minister in early June. "I would be honored to host you during the London 2012 Olympics, which Turkey is going to attend with a record number of sportsmen. I would love to watch the Olympic competition together, as Turkey's chance of winning medals is high," Cameron says in his note to Erdogan. It is the first time in history that an invitation has been sent to the Turkish prime minister by the state that is going to host the Olympics. On receiving such an uncommon invitation, Erdogan and Kilic met to discuss the matter, which resulted in the acceptance of the invitation. The invitation indicates perhaps how much political emphasis the UK puts on Erdogan's participation during the Olympics. Moreover, Erdogan accepted the invitation as his presence could be a good motivation for Turkish sportsmen competing in the London 2012 Olympics. The UK is also among the countries that are supporting Turkey's candidacy for the 2020 Olympics.