U.S. CAN NOT GIVE UP TURKEY IN THE REGION

PanARMENIAN.Net
19.03.2009 16:10 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed
late on Wednesday that U.S. President Barack Obama will be visiting
the country on April 6 and 7, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Erdogan told in an interview with a news channel that he invited Obama
to attend a meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations initiative in
Istanbul on April 7 and expressed surprise that the U.S. president
not only accepted the invitation but decided also to pay an official
visit to Ankara the day before.

The U.N.-backed Alliance of Civilizations initiative was lunched in
2005 in a bid to help overcome prejudices and misunderstandings between
different cultures and religions. It is co-chaired by Turkey and Spain.

"I didn’t expect (an official visit) that soon… Combining the two
occasions is very meaningful for us," Erdogan said in an interview with
broadcaster TGRT Haber. He said Obama’s visit carries high importance
for both Turkey and the United States. "Turkey is a country that the
U.S. can not give up in the region," he added.

Erdogan said the agenda of bilateral talks with Obama would include
the Middle East conflict, efforts to end the division of Cyprus and
Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Turkey earlier this
month, saying that it was time to buttress relations between the two
NATO allies.