News on Turkey
State’s Burns Travels to Turkey and the Middle East
Middle East peace road map, Iraq, and Iran to top under secretary’s agenda
18 January 2007
By David McKeeby
USINFO Staff Writer
Washington – Middle East peace, President Bush’s new strategy for Iraq, and Iran will top the agenda as U.S. Under Secretary of State R. Nicholas Burns meets with the leaders of Turkey, Israel and the United Arab Emirates January 18-23.
On January 18-19, Burns will meet in Turkey with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Gul, and other top diplomatic and defense officials to discuss the current state of U.S.-Turkish relations and regional issues, including security challenges posed by Turkey's eastern neighbor, Iran.
A U.S. ally and NATO member, Turkey also has seen an increase in attacks in 2006 from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a terrorist group that fought an insurgency in Turkey’s southeast from the late 1970s through the 1990s, and remains active from across Turkey’s border with northern Iraq. In 2006, the United States appointed retired U.S. Air Force General Joseph Ralston as a special envoy tasked with consulting with the Turkish, Iraqi and Kurdish regional governments about ways to resolve the problem of the PKK. (See related article.)
Burns will reiterate "strong U.S. support for Turkey’s defense against attacks by the PKK," which has been designated by the United State as a terrorist organization, according to a State Department announcement.
From Turkey, Burns will travel to Israel, where he will meet with Prime Minster Ehud Olmert and other top Israeli officials. Burns also will travel to Jerusalem, where he will meet with Palestinian officials.
Burns’ meetings follow a visit to the region by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, during which she announced new progress toward returning to the road map to Middle East Peace. Signs of progress include an upcoming meeting of the Quartet -- Russia, the European Union, the United Nations and the United States -- in Washington in February, as well as an informal discussion among the United States, Israeli, and Palestinian officials soon after. (See related article).
The so-called road map was released in April 2003 and specifies the steps for the Palestinians and Israelis to take to reach a settlement, and a timeline for doing so, under the auspices of the Quartet. (See text of document.)
While in Israel, Burns will lead the U.S. delegation to the U.S.-Israel Strategic Dialogue, a bilateral forum dedicated to regional security issues, where Iran is expected to top the agenda.
From January 22-23, Burns will visit Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates where he will meet with United Arab Emirates Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al Maktoum, United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nayhan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan to discuss “regional and bilateral issues,” according to the State Department.
For more information on U.S. policy, see The Middle East: a Vision for the Future and Southeast Europe.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)