U.S. EXPRESSES HOPE ON MIDDLE EAST TRUCE, VOWS TO WORK WITH TURKEY

Hurriyet, Turkey
Jan 3 2009

The U.S. expressed its hopes to cut a truce in the Middle East and
the special representative of the new president might pay another
visit to the region, the U.S. ambassador to Ankara said Tuesday.

"(U.S. President Barack Obama’s Special Envoy for the Middle East
George) Mitchell has returned (to Washington) today. We will review
things he learned during his tour in the region. After that he might
pay another visit to the region. But at the moment I don’t have further
information," U.S. Ambassador James Jeffrey told reporters in Ankara.

Mitchell had paid a visit to the Middle East including Egypt, Israel,
Jordan and Saudi Arabia, as well as the West Bank, in a bid to
hold talks with officials regarding a solution of the conflict. He
was expected to pay a visit to Turkey, which was postponed due to
technical problems.

"There is hope. Mitchell paid a visit to the region. This is a huge
and important issue, and we are holding contacts with Turkey as well
as the others countries in the region," Jeffrey added.

The newly appointed U.S. ambassador met with Turkish Prime Minister
Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday. Jeffrey did not give details of the
meeting but said peace efforts in the Middle East were among the
topics discussed in the meeting.

Jeffrey said the U.S. and Turkey have very good relations and will
continue to work closely. The new ambassador was asked about recent
concerns in Turkey that the Jewish lobby might withdraw its support
to Turkey if a new legislation is pushed through U.S. Congress to
recognize the Armenian claims regarding the 1915 incidents.

"We have very good relations, and both the U.S. and Turkey support
and improve these ties. From time to time we may have such a problem,
but we have always worked together and will continue to do so,"
Jeffrey responded.