US envoy indirectly joins presidential system debate in Turkey

The American administrative system, composed of three separate but co-equal branches of government, is the result of 238 years of experimentation and refinement, with a rigorous set of checks and balances so power is distributed across all three branches, the U.S. envoy to Ankara has said, indirectly joining an intense local debate launched by the ruling party over how the Turkish presidential system should be.

"Our president is our head of state and our head of government, but he does not exercise full power to do anything, anywhere, at any time. He is bound by a set of laws, he has to live within the budget that is approved by Congress and his actions are subject to oversight and scrutiny by Congress," the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, John Bass, told NTV in an interview Feb. 6. "So, for us, we have found that to be a very effective system, and, obviously, if others see value in our structures for their societies, that is a matter for them to decide."

Bass' statement came at a time when President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an is gearing up his efforts to highlight the need to change the administrative system from the current parliamentarian one to a presidential system, either like France's semi-presidential model or the U.S. presidential system.

"It is an issue for Turkish citizens to decide. It properly, from our perspective, should be a matter of public discussion and debate and one that involves respect for as wide a range of views as possible while changes are considered and evaluated in society," Bass said.

The following is a summary of Bass' responses during the interview with NTV:

On the Ankara-Washington relationship: "It is important for us to continue to work together. We do have our differences sometimes on tactics...