Turkey, IMF agree to restart direct talks

On the sidelines of the G-20 heads of state and governments summit in London yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn. During the closed-door meeting, both parties agreed in principle to restart talks for a possible new loan agreement. Deputy Premier Nazim Ekren, State Minister for the Economy Mehmet Simsek and IMF First Deputy Managing Director John Lipsky also attended. Erdogan also gave an address on Turkey's role in the Alliance of Civilizations at a conference hosted by Oxford University's Islamic Studies Center. In his speech, Erdogan stressed the importance of dialogue among different religions and cultures, and called for mutual respect and tolerance. Underlining that Turkey opposes all forms of terrorism, Erdogan said Turkey, a democratic, secular state with a majority-Muslim population, is working hard to promote greater cooperation among different civilizations.