US expects Turkey's support on Pakistan, Iraq

Anne Marie Slaughter, the director of U.S. State Department's Policy Planning, said the U.S. government seeks to actively work with Turkey on the political stability of Iraq and the economic development of the country, especially in the regional administration in the north.Â

 

"More broadly it [Iraq] has been a very important market for Turkey before the war and Iraq needs economic development and political stability and both of those areas Turkey has a very important role [to play]," Slaughter told a group of journalists at a round table meeting in Istanbul.

 

American troops are set to withdraw from cities in June 2009 and all U.S. forces are scheduled Iraq by the end of 2011. Slaughter said the question on how to move heavy equipment out of Iraq is a bigger than that of the withdrawal of troops and officials have been engaged in talks with related countries on the issue.

 

"We are negotiating with governments about what will be possible or not, which is also a matter for Turkey as well," she responded when asked about the possibility of withdrawing troops or heavy equipment via Turkish territory.

 

Slaughter is currently visiting Turkey, where she arrived Tuesday and is set to leave on Saturday, to hold talks with her counterparts on key policy issues including the Middle East, Pakistan-Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq.

 

On Tuesday she held various talks with the officials in Ankara and on Wednesday came together with representatives of the Turkish business community in Istanbul, she said.

 

Turkey key partner

Slaughter, the former Dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, was appointed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as the Director of Policy Planning in January.

 

Not having ever been to Turkey before being appointed, she has since visited twice, Slaughter said, adding, "That should tell you something about the importance of Turkey in the way President Obama and Secretary Clinton see the world."

 

She expressed her government's desire to work with Turkey in tackling key issues facing the world and to see the country as part of the solution.

 

Turkey has an important role to play in the Middle East, Iran, Iraq and Syria as well as the Balkans, Caucasus and Black Sea, and in Afghanistan and Pakistan,  particularly as Washington focuses on education and strengthening democracy in these regions, she added.

 

"Turkey has very important diplomatic roles to play because it has the confidence of the Pakistani government. It also has an important social and educational role to play particularly," she noted. "The Turkish education system is more relevant to the Pakistani education system than the American educational system," she said, adding that Turkish schools could be important in Pakistan in terms of educating girls.

 

Iran process to be reviewed

The U.S. government decided to withdraw an invitation extended to Iranian envoys around the world to attend July 4 celebrations and will review its approach to the country once the post-election situation is stabilized, the official said Friday.

 

"At this point we are going to have to wait to see what the outcome of this process (is), until Iran has a stable government that we can engage with," Slaughter, added.

 

U.S President Barack Obama came under fire over its stance on the disputed Iranian elections after he said his government does not want to be seen as meddling in the country's internal affairs. Supporters of the reformist candidate launched mass demonstrations in the capital after incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad overwhelmingly won the elections.

 

Although the U.S. disagrees with a number of policies that Iran pursues, the Washington administration does not challenge or seek to change the government of Iran, she reiterated.

 

The United States rescinded invitations to Iranian diplomats to attend July 4 parties at U.S. embassies following the violent suppression of protests in Iran, officials said.

 

Slaughter said the difference between the previous administration and the Obama administration is that the latter seeks a much more multidimensional policy. "There is a perception in Obama's administration that we have to engage in whole range of issues and we have to be thinking about building ties with societies in many countries," she said in response to a question.