US state dept: "Our ties with Turkey aren't affected by the WikiLeaks release"

US ties with Turkey haven't been affected by release of confidential diplomatic cables this week by WikiLeaks, said US State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley yesterday, in the wake of criticism from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan over some US diplomats' comments in the cables. Erdogan on Wednesday blamed the US for allegations that he has bank accounts in Switzerland and said Turkey is looking into legal action against the diplomats who made the claims. Asked to comment on Erdogan's remarks, Crowley said, "Those (diplomatic) reports are most effective when they're candid, when they're frank, when they're direct. We're not going to change and we don't think that this will change the way that we approach our diplomacy, and I doubt that this will change how other countries engage in their diplomacy." Underlining the importance of Turkish-US ties, Crowley said, "We have a strong relationship with Turkey . We are allies within NATO. We are friends. We are working closely together on a wide range of issues. That's not going to change, and that was the commitment that the secretary (of state) and the foreign minister agreed to in their meeting (in Washington ) earlier this week."