Obama to visit Turkey next month
Barack Obama will visit Turkey next month, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton says
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Saturday, 07, Mar 2009 02:21
Ankara could be the location of Barack Obama's much-vaunted speech in a Muslim capital after Hillary Clinton said the US president would visit Turkey in April.
Mrs Clinton, in Turkey for broad-ranging talks, said Mr Obama would travel to Turkey "in a month or so".
"The exact date will be announced shortly," the US secretary of state said.
"We are just at the beginning of planning this decision reached yesterday."
President Obama had promised to deliver a speech in a major Muslim capital within one year of coming to office as part of a new approach to Islamic countries.
The announcement from Mrs Clinton came after she met Turkey's president Abdullah Gul, prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and foreign minister Ali Babacan.
She reaffirmed Washington's commitment to Turkey's EU membership and a solution to a divided Cyprus.
Turkey, a Nato member, is being solicited by the US to mediate in talks with Israel and Syria over the Golan Heights.
A joint statement issued after the talks praised the "strong bonds of alliance, solidarity and strategic partnership" that the two countries enjoy.