ANKARA, Jan 10 (AFP) - The head of the US Central Command is set to hold talks in Turkey on a wide range of issues, including Afghanistan and Iraq, a US official said Monday.
General John Abizaid, who is currently in Pakistan, arrives in Ankara on Tuesday for talks with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul as well as Yigit Alpogan, who heads the country's top consultative body, the National Security Council, a spokesman for the US embassy here said.
He is set to leave on Wednesday after meeting the number two at the Turkish general staff, General Ilker Basbug.
"The talks will focus on many things, but Iraq, as it progresses towards elections, will top the agenda," the spokesman said.
Turkey says the January 30 polls in neighbouring Iraq should take place with participation from all ethnic communities in the war-torn country and produce an administration that represents all the different groups.
Ankara is worried that Kurds in northern Iraq could break away from Baghdad, fanning separatist sentiment among their kinsmen in adjoining southeastern Turkey and trigger new turmoil in the region.
Another issue that is expected to be discussed in Abizaid's talks is Afghanistan, the US spokesman said.
Turkey is preparing to take over on January 27 the command of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan for a duration of six months.
Ankara, which had led ISAF for six months as of July 2002, is expected to contribute more than 1,400 soldiers to ISAF, which is made up of 8,300 soldiers from more than 30 countries serving in Kabul and nine provinces north of the capital.
01/10/2005 13:01 GMT - AFP