Davutoglu: US and Turkey do not have luxury of remaining aloof from each other

On the occasion of his trip the United States, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has written an article for the Foreign Policy magazine, in which he underlined the essential nature of the relationship between the two countries by saying, "United States and Turkey do not have the luxury of remaining aloof or apart from each other; our joint work has proven indispensable to regional security and stability." Underlining his disagreement with the perception that the US and its Middle Eastern allies were growing apart, Davutoglu pointed out in his article: "The truth is, in Turkey's case, our two countries have long been close allies and will remain partners going forward. In today's ever more complex and fluid international environment -- with Syria in crisis and much of the Middle East in flux -- the U.S.-Turkish relationship remains vital for a sustainable regional and global order." Also commenting on Syria, Davutoglu described the progress towards the elimination of Bashar al-Assad's chemical weapons as a step in the right direction, but added that there was still more to be done.