The USA will continue to work with Turkey on a range of issues, despite Ankara's vote against new UN sanctions on Iran, a senior official has said.
Philip Gordon, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, made these remarks in an interview with the BBC's Kim Ghattas, published on the State Department website.
Asked about Washington's reaction to Turkey's vote in the UN Security Council, Philip Gordon said: 'Well, we’ve made no secret of the fact that we were disappointed with the Turkish vote. This was a critical issue for the United States. Many other key allies from all parts of the world came together to send a message to Iran that there are consequences for failing to abide by UN Security Council resolutions. Turkey and Brazil chose not to support it, but we were pleased that so many countries did come together to give their support.'
He played down comments that Turkey is turning away from the West: 'Well, Turkey is no doubt playing a more active role in the region... Turkey is more active in the East, it’s more active in its region. I don’t think, though, that this is at the expense of the West, that this is somehow a choice, one or the other. Turkey has a very active foreign policy. It has long had ties to its neighbouring countries and it is pursuing and developing those things which can be a good thing. Turkey can play an important role in regional diplomacy. We certainly haven’t sensed any lessening of Turkey’s desire to have a strong relationship with the United States and a strong relationship with Europe.'
Asked whether the USA and Turkey were turning into strategic competitors in the Middle East, rather than strategic partners, the assistant secretary of state said: 'No, I don’t think so. I think the United States and Turkey remain strategic partners. We have so many interests in common. We can have disagreements, and there are things we disagree on, not least the vote on Iran at the United Nations. Throughout that process we have been frank with each other about our differences. We’ve explained to them why we think it was important for countries to vote yes in the Iran resolution. They have explained to us why they think the Tehran declaration was something worth pursuing. And we’ve explained to them what we think the shortcomings are. That’s what friends and partners do.'
Will United States Administration Support Armenian Bill In Congress?
Philip Crowley was asked whether the administration would punish Turkey in some way, perhaps by supporting a bill in Congress recognizing the killing of Armenians under Ottoman Rule as genocide.
'I don’t think we should be mixing up issues that don’t have anything to do with each other. We have a wide-ranging relationship with Turkey. We’ll be taking each issue appropriately, one at a time,' Philip Gordon said.
News.Az
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