WASHINGTON ASKED FOR A "SPECIFIC NUMBER" OF TURKISH TROOPS FOR AFGHANISTAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.12.2009 17:24 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Ankara and Washington have been holding discussions
on a US demand that its NATO ally Turkey send more troops to
Afghanistan, the top US diplomat in Turkey disclosed on Wednesday,
while stating that the US has asked for a "specific number" of troops
although he declined to name that number.

US Ambassador to Turkey James Jeffrey spoke with a small group of
journalists at a round-table meeting in Ankara clearly indicated that
US expects Turkey to be "more flexible" on the definition of tasks
to be carried out by their mission in Afghanistan.

"What we’re asking of all of our allies is to provide additional
troops and to take on additional roles, particularly in protecting the
population." he said. US Ambassador confirmed that the issue would
likely be on the agenda of a White House meeting between Obama and
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Dec. 7, Today’s Zaman reported.