WASHINGTON - The United States supports Turkey's membership of the European Union despite the crisis caused by the rejection of the European constitution in two key countries, the White House said Wednesday.
Speaking ahead of talks between US President George W. Bush and Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said "we have not changed our views" about Turkey's hopes to join the EU.
Bush expressed his support for Turkey's candidacy last year, drawing criticism from France's President Jacques Chirac who said the US leader should not get involved in European affairs.
The French and Dutch rejection of the European constitution in referendums last month have halted European integration and could delay negotiations on Turkey's candidacy for the EU which are due to start on October 3.
Germany's Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said Tuesday he favored going ahead with talks on Turkey's EU accession set for October 3. Fischer, on a two-day visit to Washington, told journalists that abandoning talks with Ankara "would carry considerable risk".
US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick on Tuesday urged Turkey to look beyond the European Union.
"I would suggest it's important for Turkey reform orientation to look beyond the European Union to a global context," said Zoellick at a conference on US-Turkey relations.
Noting Washington's support for Turkey's accession to the European Union, Zoellick said "I suggest that it's important that our bilateral ties not be too constrained by the effort at EU accession."
"The European Union is clearly important to Turkey's future, but so are the countries of the broader Middle East," he said.
06/08/2005 14:44 GMT