Turkey: New energy is needed in US ties

New energy is needed in ties with the U.S., the Turkish government has said during U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's first official visit to the capital Ankara, voicing hope for "concrete steps" particularly in the fight against jihadists in Syria and the extradition of Pennsylvania-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen. 

"It's vital for us to give a new energy to the Turkey-U.S. relationship. Turkey and the U.S. have an important role to play regarding the challenges they face. Our area of responsibility is not limited to our respective regions, it is about all problems and opportunities across the world. That's why the Turkey-U.S. friendship should be stronger than ever," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told a joint press conference with Tillerson in Ankara on March 30. 

The secretary of state was paying a one-day visit to Ankara, where he held extensive talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and Çavuşoğlu. He did not meet opposition party leaders during the trip, but paid a visit to the Ankara mausoleum of the Turkish Republic's founding leader, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. 

Çavuşoğlu described Tillerson's visit as an indication of the importance attached to ties with Turkey by the U.S., underlining that the two allies should be much more influential in dealing with issues of concern to both. 

Tillerson underscored the role that Turkey has been playing in its region as a NATO ally since 1952, vowing that the Trump administration was eager to continue to build ties with Turkey. He stressed that "three main goals" he was focused on during his talks in Ankara were defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), bringing stability to the region, and boosting bilateral economic ties. ...