 |
Gül, Obama discuss Afghanistan, Armenia progress
Obama “expressed appreciation for Turkey's contributions [in Afghanistan], and the two leaders agreed to work closely together in the critical weeks ahead,” the White House said of the telephone conversation.
The call came as Obama is considering whether to vastly expand the amount of US resources invested in the eight-year war, including deploying tens of thousands more troops amid some of the conflict's worst violence and an Afghan government roiled by allegations of fraud in August elections.
Turkey is currently continuing its support of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) with around 800 non-combat troops in Afghanistan. The Turkish troops were in charge of the rotating leadership of the Kabul Regional Command between April and December of 2007. The Kabul Regional Command was created in the summer of 2006 under the joint leadership of Turkey, France and Italy as part of ISAF in Afghanistan.
Turkey is readying to assume the leadership of the Kabul Regional Command once again in November and the number of non-combat Turkish troops there will be increased to 1,600 when it takes up the leadership on Nov.1. Turkey has constantly voiced its determination not to send any combat troops to Afghanistan.
The telephone conversation with Gül covered a range of issues, “reflecting the broad strategic dialogue the United States conducts with this key ally,” the White House said in a statement.
The two leaders also spoke about the “historic progress” being made to normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia “and the importance of maintaining the momentum in this important effort,” it added. Earlier this month, Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols aimed at opening up diplomatic relations, bilateral ties and their common border after years of hostility.
On Friday, Armenia backed Turkey's efforts to join the European Union, saying it would serve its own interests in pursuing closer relations with the EU.
Gül and Obama in addition discussed “the need for sustained engagement in resolving the Cyprus problem and in promoting stability in Bosnia-Herzegovina,” the White House said. “The two presidents agreed on the importance of continued consultations on these and other key topics on the global security agenda.”
The telephone conversation between Gül and Obama came just weeks before a planned working visit to Washington by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the invitation of Obama.
The White House statement, meanwhile, did not elaborate on whether the two presidents also discussed the recently heightened tension in relations between Turkey and Israel. Tension prevails in the ties between Israel and Turkey, particularly since Ankara's harsh criticism of Israel's three-week offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in December and January.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BERİL DEDEOĞLU |  |
||
| Yemen and beyond | |||
| ABDULLAH BOZKURT |  |
||
| Turkey and Mexico: Distant yet so close | |||
| ABDÜLHAMİT BİLİCİ |  |
||
| Google kidnaps Gül! | |||
| İHSAN YILMAZ |  |
||
| The Egyptian elections, Islam and Islamists | |||
| MARKAR ESAYAN |  |
||
| There is need for a new initiative | |||
| EMRE USLU |  |
||
| Operational errors | |||
| HASAN KANBOLAT |  |
||
| Are Russian tourists being discouraged from visiting Turkey? | |||
| CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON |  |
||
| The modern ‘Great Game’: women’s role and status | |||
| KLAUS JURGENS |  |
||
| Back to the ’80s | |||
| KATHY HAMILTON |  |
||
| Random acts of violence | |||
| MERVE BÜŞRA ÖZTÜRK |  |
||
| Adding insult to injury in Uludere | |||
| NICOLE POPE |  |
||
| Shifting responsibility | |||
| YAVUZ BAYDAR |  |
||
| ‘Errorism’ | |||
| ORHAN MİROĞLU |  |
||
| ‘Strategic vision’ | |||
| ORHAN KEMAL CENGİZ |  |
||
| Turkey through Amnesty International’s eyes | |||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
