“The United States strongly supports Turkey’s membership in the European Union. That’s not for us to decide. It is obviously for the union itself,” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated in an interview with BBC.

“EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton has been especially active in working with Turkey, as I have. So I believe that we are both committed to enhancing our engagement with Turkey,” she said, stressing Turkey is becoming a much greater regional and global presence.

“Turkey’s position for me is a very important one. They are a partner, in many cases, as we work together to look at some of the challenges we face regionally and internationally.And so from the perspective of looking at external relations, when I look at the countries with whom I need to have a strong relationship, Turkey is clearly one for the reasons that Hillary has well expressed,” Ashton noted. According to her, Turkey is a candidate country, however, it is a long-term and challenging route to get to EU membership in any event.
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