ATC head: "The US sees Turkey's value in Iran issue"

The US approach toward Turkey's involvement in the Iranian nuclear controversy, a source of irritation in the Turkish-American relationship in 2010, has improved greatly, according to the president of the American-Turkish Council. Washington has now come to see Ankara as a valuable communicator that is giving strong messages to Tehran, said retired Ambassador James Holmes, the ATC head. "I think there was a substantial misunderstanding about the various roles and what those roles were as far as Iran is concerned," he added. "Perhaps there was even miscommunication between Washington and Ankara on how this could be best handled." He added, "I think that the relationship and the understanding as far as Iran is concerned has much improved [compared to] what it was six months ago. The fact that Turkey was preparing to host this round of negotiations [earlier this month] and act as host was appreciated in Washington." On whether the US might ask Turkey to act as a facilitator or mediator in the future, Holmes said it was unlikely. "They want Turkey to use its regional influence," he explained. "They want Turkey to use its contacts and its ability to talk to all the sides. They're not really looking for Turkey to be a mediator, a facilitator at this point. Maybe that will change but it will require, I think, a fairly significant amount of change of circumstances before it does." He added, "A lot of heat that existed in 2010 has gone out of that issue now. I think [US officials] have felt that Ankara has been a valuable communicator with strong messages as far as Tehran is concerned."