U.S. can not give up Turkey in the region

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed late on Wednesday that U.S. President Barack Obama will be visiting the country on April 6 and 7, Hurriyet Daily News reports.



Erdogan told in an interview with a news channel that he invited Obama to attend a meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations initiative in Istanbul on April 7 and expressed surprise that the U.S. president not only accepted the invitation but decided also to pay an official visit to Ankara the day before.



The U.N.-backed Alliance of Civilizations initiative was lunched in 2005 in a bid to help overcome prejudices and misunderstandings between different cultures and religions. It is co-chaired by Turkey and Spain.



"I didn't expect (an official visit) that soon... Combining the two occasions is very meaningful for us," Erdogan said in an interview with broadcaster TGRT Haber. He said Obama's visit carries high importance for both Turkey and the United States. "Turkey is a country that the U.S. can not give up in the region," he added.



Erdogan said the agenda of bilateral talks with Obama would include the Middle East conflict, efforts to end the division of Cyprus and Turkey's bid to join the European Union.



U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Turkey earlier this month, saying that it was time to buttress relations between the two NATO allies.