Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan at the White House

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held meetings with US President Bush in Washington on Wednesday. Praising Turkey as an example of democracy to the broader Middle East, President Bush said, Turkey and the US have important strategic relations."The US president also pledged to help stop Kurdish militants entering Turkey from Iraqi borders. "We discussed a lot of foreign policy and one of the US's most important foreign policies is to work with the Palestinians so they can have their own state living side by side with Israel in peace." Bush added, "We have decided to work on this together."Erdogan told reporters at a press conference in the Oval office after the one hour long meeting: "We went beyond issues standing until today and focused on what we can do from this point forward." Bush then thanked Erdogan for Turkey's support in Afghanistan where Turkey is currently the biggest NATO force in he country. The meetings that took place on US soil are seen as part of a move to improve bilateral relations between the two countries following a rift that developed after Turkey blocked US troops from entering northern Iraq from Turkish soil. The US hold Turkey partly responsible for not being able to open up a northern front during the early stages of the Iraq war.White House spokesman Scott McClellan said that the two leaders had a constructive meeting that was aimed at really reinvigorating the strategic partnership with Turkey. On the issue of the Kurdish militants that are crossing over the borders who are thought to be carrying explosives and ammunition according to Turkish authorities, McClellan said, "The PKK is a terrorist organization. This is one area where we will continue working with Turkey, and one for the transitional government of Iraq to address." Â