ANKARA - Turkey's foreign minister said on Sunday that a new era began in relations between Turkey and USA after the new U.S. administration took office.
Attending a program on private NTV channel, Babacan said that Turkey and USA's priorities in foreign politics were totally in line with each other.
Commenting on U.S. President Barack Obama's upcoming visit to Turkey, Babacan said that the exact date of the visit would be announced by U.S. officials.
Upon a question on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's not using the expression "moderate Islam" for Turkey, Babacan said Turkey was an important example showing that democracy, secularism and Islam could coexist, adding that USA attached great importance to this fact.
Babacan also said that Obama's paying one of his very first visits to Turkey was an "important message to the world".
Replying to a question on whether Obama would use the word "genocide" while describing the incidents of 1915 in his speech on April 24, Babacan said, "Time will show what will happen. I still see a risk at that point, however, the important thing is that the new U.S. administration perceived Turkey's sensitivity on certain issues".
Babacan also said that good developments took place towards the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations.
"The tripartite mechanism among Turkey, the United States and Iraq in the fight against the PKK terrorist organization will continue. Besides military struggle, we need to benefit from economic, socio-cultural and diplomatic instruments to succeed in the fight against the PKK. The withdrawal of U.S. soldiers from Iraq should be carried out gradually to prevent any difficulties," he said.
Babacan said that the United States did not request Turkey to dispatch reinforcement units in Afghanistan.
Referring to the relations with Iran, Babacan highlighted importance of dialogue and diplomacy in efforts to find a solution. "I do not convey any messages from the United States to Iran," he said.
Upon a question about the relations with Israel, Babacan said, "our contacts have never been halted. We believe that the only way to resolve problems is dialogue. We have strategic relations with Israel based on national interests of both countries."
When asked about the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur, Babacan said, "actually, our priority is protection of stability and peace in Sudan. No one should ignore likely impacts of arrest of the president on Sudanese people."
(DO-UK)
(DIP)