Secretary Cohen's Remarks at the Turkish Ministry of Defense, Ankara, Turkey

Cohen: I would like to say something to the Minister, and to the extent that the press are here, they can hear. Mr. Minister, let me say what a privilege it is for me to be here, with you today. We have met each other on a number of occasions. But this is my very first visit, not only as Secretary of Defense, but my first visit to your great country. Turkey is a valued partner and a strong ally of the United States. And as you have pointed out, while geography may separate us in terms of distance, there is no distance between our values, our societies; we place a high premium on civilian participation in democracy. You have a great democracy. You have a strong constitution. We stand with you as friends in times of, certainly, peace, but also in times of great tension. You have been a very strong ally and reliable partner of the United States and of NATO. And during the course of this meeting and other meetings today and this evening, I hope that we can discuss ways in which we can continue to build upon that relationship, not only in terms of our military partnership but also economic development. We are very interested in working closely with your country.