In Ankara, Rasmussen focuses on NATO-EU ties

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen yesterday again pressed Turkey to lift its veto on Greek Cyprus' possible role in European Union-NATO cooperation, a longstanding hurdle to Brussels' ambition of increasing its military capability. "We're ready to work with (Rasmussen) to find a solution that would take into consideration Turkey's attitude in principle and allay our concerns," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters before meeting with the NATO chief in Ankara. Rasmussen was visiting Turkey as part of a tour of several key NATO allies prior to the alliance's Lisbon summit next month, where he will present his strategic concept for the alliance. Meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as Davutoglu, top topics were reportedly NATO's new strategic concept, enhancing NATO-EU cooperation, missile defense, and NATO's mission in Afghanistan.