ANKARA - U.S. Embassy in Ankara said on Saturday that several media stories on May 15 and 17 carried an inaccurate report of a recent meeting of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ugur Ziyal and U.S. Ambassador W. Robert Pearson.
U.S. Embassy in Ankara issued a statement and pointed out that there was no communication problem between the governments.
The written statement said, ''this morning the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Gul and Ambassador Pearson spoke and agreed that these reports are a complete misinterpretation of what has been discussed.''
The statement said, ''as can be seen from statements by several leaders in Washington and Ankara this week, both Turkey and the United States are working on making our relations closer and more productive.''
The statement said, ''the U.S. and Turkey are working in many fields on steps to further improve the relationship. These steps include the continuation of visits between senior leaders. Secretary of State Powell visited as recently as April 3. A number of future visits are being planned by U.S. and Turkish officials.''
''While it is inappropriate to discuss the content of diplomatic exchanges, it should be perfectly clear that Foreign Minister Gul is welcome to visit the United States as are other senior Turkish leaders as their busy schedules permit. Likewise, the Turkish and American military continue to work together in many areas as friends and allies,'' the statement stressed.
(AY-BRC) 17.05.2003