ISTANBUL - Chief of Staff of Turkish army General Hilmi Ozkok has denied that Turkey-US relations are tense and said that ''evaluations and statements in this regard do not reflect the truth and reality''.
''In this vast geographical land, Turkey needs the U.S. and vice versa. Turkey and US have common expectations regarding many regional problems,'' said gen. Ozkok.
General Ozkok elaborated on Turkey's ties with global actors and players. He indicated that there are two very important pillars of Turkish foreign policy: Turkish-U.S. relations and Turkish-EU ties.
''All statements asserting that Turkish-U.S. relations are worsening do not reflect the reality. Both of the countries work for the establishment of permanent peace, stability and security in the Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East and Central Asia,'' told Ozkok. Ozkok also stressed that another very important pillar of Turkish foreign policy is Turkish-EU ties. He said: ''After EU's decision on December 17th to start entry talks, certain circles in Europe have begun manifesting anti-Turkish sentiments. There are countries in the EU that will put Turkey's membership in a national referendum. We also know that certain groups would like to give Turkey just a 'preferential partner' status. In fact, Turkey would surely contribute to the EU. There exist some circles in the EU that still do not understand the importance of Turkey. EU's economic success in the future depends on Turkey.''