Turkish FM Gul off to US for talks with Rice

ANKARA (AFP) — Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has flown to the United States for talks with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, aimed at giving a new boost to bilateral ties, badly hurt by the US-led war in Iraq.

Gul was scheduled to hold talks with Rice as well as with National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley on Wednesday.

In remarks to reporters at the Ankara airport, Gul said he and Rice would unveil a "common vision document" outlining the two NATO allies' shared positions on international affairs.

He said the paper was not a treaty but a document "outlining a common vision on which both countries will work and expend efforts."

Turkish-US relations took a severe blow ahead of Iraq's occupation in 2003 when the Turkish parliament rejected Washington's request to deploy soldiers in Turkey, scuppering plans for a northern invasion of Iraq.

Relations have also ...