Ricciardone: "Last week's resignations of top generals poses no setback to Turkish-us relations

Last week's surprise resignation of Turkey's top four military commanders poses no setback to security relations between Turkey and the United States, said US Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone in Washington on Tuesday. "At this time of year there's always a turnover in the leadership in any case," Ricciardone told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "This turnover happened in a different way, by means of resignation under evident protest for particular reasons articulated by Gen. (Isik) Kosaner," the chief of General Staff who stepped down on Friday. "Turkey is a state of law and (has) strong institutions that are durable, even though they're dynamic and in change," Ricciardone added. "I have every confidence our security relationship will continue to be strong, (and) that our military leaders will meet with the new Turkish military leaders. I look forward to getting back to Ankara to dealing and meeting with the new military leadership. I'm very confident things will be just fine."