US rebufs talk of shift in Turkey away from west

Suggesting that Turkey has turned its back on its allies within NATO and in Europe, particularly just after top Turkish and US leaders had a lengthy meeting to discuss a series of global matters, doesn't reflect the real situation, a senior US State Department said on Tuesday. The remarks by Philip Gordon, assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasian affairs, came at a hearing by a subcommittee of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee. Ankara and Washington may have different views on certain issues, Gordon said, adding that during their Dec. 7 meeting at the White House, US President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan discussed a series of issues, including their approaches to Iran, Israel and Syria. "I believe that thinking that Turkey has turned its back on its decades-long cooperation with NATO, the US, and Europe is an incorrect perception," Gordon was quoted as saying by the Anatolia News Agency. Stressing that the two leaders' meeting took a few hours, he said, "This is not a sign showing that a country is moving away from the US." It's also mistaken to say that Turkey, which is continuing its bid to become a member of the European Union, is moving away from Europe, he said. "However, it is a fact that Turkey is continuing to be a close partner for us with its big and important cooperation on a regional and global scale." Following his meeting with Erdogan, Obama voiced his appreciation for the role Turkey plays in promoting global peace. Erdogan's visit was also used as an opportunity to diversify the strong political and military cooperation between the two allies, with the launch of an initiative aimed at boosting trade and investment ties. The new initiative has been widely characterized as another concrete sign of the mutual desire to make the model partnership more substantial.