Turkish Foreign Minister Meets U.S. Counterpart

WASHINGTON D.C. - Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan met Thursday his U.S. counterpart Condoleezza Rice in Washington D.C.
Appearing at a joint press conference after the meeting, Rice said Turkish-U.S. relations were in very good position despite certain difficult issues in the past, adding that Turkey and the United States cooperated in many areas of a variety of issues.
Rice said that she discussed with her Turkish counterpart issues such as Kosovo, Cyprus, Afghanistan, the Middle Eastern peace process, and Iran.
Rice said the U.S. was "very pleased" with Turkey's active policy in the Middle East including its efforts for the Israeli-Syrian rapprochement.
Babacan said that Turkish-U.S. relations were stronger than before, citing the cooperation in Iraq and cooperation against the terrorist organization PKK.
"Be it the Middle East or the Balkans we are in close cooperation with the U.S. and we share the same goals," Babacan said.
(YMB-BRC)
(DIP)