US President Obama meets Turkish counterpart Gul

After his meeting with Gul, Obama will make a speech at the Turkish Parliament. During his visit to Parliament, he will hold talks with the speaker as well as with the leaders of political parties.

"The president's address (in the parliament) will reaffirm his belief that Turkey is a critical ally, and an important part of Europe," a senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said ahead of the talks.

"The president wanted to visit Turkey because he believes it’s important that we take steps to renew the U.S.-Turkey relationship, which has drifted in recent years," an official told AFP.

The U.S. president will leave for Istanbul on Monday night following his meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

Obama will arrive in Istanbul, where he will give a speech at a dinner hosted by Gul for the participants of the Alliance of Civilizations summit.

Obama in Anitkabir
Obama officially began his Turkey visit after laying a wreath at Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, to pay his respects to the founder of the modern Turkish Republic.

Obama slowly climbed the massive flight of stairs and passed through soaring stone columns of red, white and green marble to lay a red-and-white wreath at the huge sarcophagus of Ataturk. He observed a moment of silence under the gold mosaic ceiling.

"I am honored to pay tribute to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a man whose vision, tenacity, and courage put the Republic of Turkey on the path of democracy and whose legacy continues to inspire generations around the world.

"As the 44th President of the United States of America, I look forward to strengthening relations between the U.S. and Turkey and supporting Ataturk’s vision of Turkey as a modern and prosperous democracy giving hope to its people and providing 'peace at home, peace in the world'," Obama wrote in the commemorative guest book.

Visit to repair relations
Obama's visit to Turkey is aimed at repairing relations and eradicating all negative consequences of the 2003 crisis in bilateral relations, referring to the rejection of the Turkish Parliament to allow American troops to pass through Iraq from its territory, a spokesman for U.S. National Security Council said.

"Obama's speeches in Turkey will not be directed at Muslims. However, Turkey is a country where the majority of the population is Muslim. Turkey's identity as a Muslim, secular and democratic country is crucial for us," Mike Hammer told the state-run Anatolian Agency aboard the White House press plane on the way to Ankara from Prague where a U.S.-EU summit took place.

A high-level official from the White House told the agency that some of the issues Obama would discuss in Ankara were "Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East."

Tight security measures
Tight security measures have been taken in both Istanbul and Ankara for Obama's visit. In Ankara many roads on the convoy's route have been blocked, and thousands of policemen from special operations teams have been deployed, while mobile phone jammers have been activated in the area.

Obama is unlikely to make his earlier-promised speech to warm ties with the Muslim world in the first 100 days of his presidency during his Turkey trip.