ANKARA
U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman said on Monday that the United States wanted best possible relationship between Turkey and Israel.
Speaking to AA correspondent, Grossman, who is visiting Turkish capital of Ankara ahead of NATO Summit in Chicago in which important decisions are expected to be made on Afghanistan, said that he would exchange views with Turkish officials regarding Afghanistan.
Grossman said he would like to thank Turkish authorities for their contributions to Afghanistan, stating that he came Ankara to discuss Afghanistan's today and future.
Turkey and the United States have been pursuing the same policy on Afghanistan, he said, adding that they hoped that it would continue also after 2014 when NATO would withdraw its forces from Afghanistan. Grossman said that the two countries would keep playing important roles for security and stability in Afghanistan.
When he was told that Turkish people started to question Turkey's presence in Afghanistan after a helicopter crash in Afghanistan that killed 12 Turkish soldiers, Grossman said this situation was valid not only for Turkey but also for all NATO members, stating that Afghans, Americans, Turks and other nationals made sacrifices in the past decade.
Grossman said that within the scope of an agreement reached in Bonn, Turkey and the United States would also keep contributing to transition process in Afghanistan after 2014.
When reminded of some news reports that Turkey vetoed Israel's participation in the NATO Summit in Chicago, Grossman said that they wanted best possible relationship between Turkey and Israel, and it was to the interest of Turkey, Israel and the United States.
Regarding some discussions on the United States' role in February 28 process, Grossman recalled that he had served as U.S. ambassador to Turkey during that period, stating that the United States' theme had been to support Turkish democracy during that period, as it was now.
The post-modern coup, or the February 28 process, refers to a military intervention that forced late ex-prime minister Necmettin Erbakan to resign in June 1997 after serving only a year in office.
The process took its name from the February 28, 1997 meeting of the National Security Council (MGK).
(Reporting by Gulsen Solaker)
