US to Turkey: Continue dialogue with Israel
Clinton asks Turkish FM to leave nuclear issue to Security Council powers, IAEA. State Department says she told Davutoglu Ankara's relationship with Israel 'vitally important to region's future'
WASHINGTON - A senior US official said that Turkey has agreed to stay out of international efforts to pressure Iran on its nuclear program.
The official told reporters that US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had asked Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in a 45 minute conversation Monday to leave the issue to UN Security Council powers and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation, said Davutoglu agreed.
Clinton and Davutoglu also discussed Turkey's strained relations with Israel in the aftermath of the IDF raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla in late May, which left nine Turkish nationals dead.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said after their conversation that "the secretary encouraged the foreign minister to continue important dialogue with Israel because that relationship remains a vitally important one to the future of the region."
"The secretary also… reiterated the United States' commitment to help with the PKK as a designated foreign terrorist organization," added Crowley. The PKK remains a common enemy of Turkey, the United States and Iraq and is a threat to the stability of the region."
US-Turkish relations have suffered since Turkey voted against US-backed sanctions that ultimately passed in the UN Security Council last month.
'Wise for EU to accept Turkey'
The vote came shortly after Turkey tried to broker a nuclear fuel-swap deal with Iran as an alternative to sanctions.
The Turkish Embassy had no immediate comment on the Clinton-Davutoglu talks.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul said in a newspaper interview over the weekend that Ankara saw itself as part of Europe and remained committed to the West regardless of its close links to countries in the Middle East.
"I consider it very wrong to interpret Turkey's interests with other geographic regions as it breaking from the West, turning its back on the West or seeking alternatives to the West. Turkey is part of Europe," Gul told the Times newspaper.
Last week US President Barack Obama said Turkey could end up seeking alliances outside the West if the European Union keeps it dangling over its bid for membership.
Obama told Italy's Corriere della Sera the United States believed it would be wise for the European Union to accept Turkey, and saw reluctance to let Turkey in as a factor behind changes seen in its traditionally West-facing foreign policy.
Reuters contributed to the report
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