US senator thinks discussions on proposed caucasus platform likely to be suspended

In Ankara yesterday, US Senator Richard Lugar yesterday met with Foreign Minister Ali Babacan. Asked about Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's proposed Caucasus platform, meant to help restore regional peace and security following the recent conflict between Russia and Georgia, Lugar told reporters, "I think discussions on the proposed platform will probably be postponed until Russia fully pulls out its soldiers from the region, and peace and stability has completely been established in Georgia." Lugar, a Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relation Committee, is currently leading a congressional delegation on a nine-nation trip in the wake of the Russian-Georgian conflict.