Turkey's first president with an Islamist past, Abdullah Gul, is to examine his prime minister's new cabinet on his first day in office today. Gul was elected president in an August 28 parliamentary vote.
He took office a few hours after being elected, pledging to remain impartial, stay true to the country's secular principles, and press on with Ankara's ambitions to integrate with the European Union.
Later today, he is expected to approve the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose Justice and Development Party -- which nominated Gul for the presidency -- won a landslide win in snap general elections on July 22.
Turkey's western allies congratulated Gul after his election, saying they hoped he would further improve Ankara's ties with other countries and help keep the country's democracy reforms on track.
The European Union said it hoped Gul's presidency would help advance Ankara's accession talks with the 27-nation bloc, which began in 2005 during Gul's tenure as foreign minister.
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
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