Mullen Says Relations With Turkey Are Crucial

WASHINGTON - Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen regarded the relations with Turkey as crucial and said military relations had always been strong and should be so in the future too.
Mullen, held a press conference in the foreign press center on Tuesday and answered questions regarding the cooperation between Turkey and the U.S. against the terrorist organization PKK, the visit of Vice Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General James Cartwright, and Multinational Force in Iraq (MNF-I) Commander General David Petraeus to Turkey, as well as the possibility of Turkey's launching a cross-border military operation (to the north of Iraq).
Mullen, said the visit of U.S. generals to Turkey was a follow-up to the November 5th meeting between U.S. President George W. Bush and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington.
Mullen indicated that what the U.S. wanted to do was to help Turkey, and said that they need to be aware of their strategic goals (with Turkey). He added that PKK is a listed terrorist organization and U.S. does not support this organization and its activities.