U.S. Embassy: The United States Neither Vetoed Nor Sought To Undermine The Turkish Candidate

ANKARA - The U.S. Embassy in Ankara said on Friday that an article in a Turkish newspaper the day before claimed that the United States had undermined the candidacy of Ambassador Turan Morali for a position in the NATO Secretariat, adding, ''this article is largely inaccurate''.
Releasing a statement on Friday, the U.S. Embassy in Ankara said that Ambassador Morali had contributed greatly to the important role that Turkey played in the NATO.
The U.S. Embassy noted that Turkey and the United States had always worked closely together to fill positions in the NATO leadership structure.
It said, ''in this particular case, the Secretary General chose from a pool of excellent candidates. The United States neither vetoed nor sought to undermine the Turkish candidate. The United States views Turkey as a key NATO ally, and look forward to continued excellent cooperation with Turkey to ensure the continued success of the alliance.''
(MS-AÖ) 04.07.2003