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Obama, Gul discuss Afghanistan: White House
2009-10-17
WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama discussed Saturday the situation in Afghanistan with Turkish President Abdullah Gul, the White House said, as he weighs whether to dramatically ramp up the US effort there. Obama "expressed appreciation for Turkey's contributions, and the two leaders agreed to work closely together in the critical weeks ahead," the White House said. The call came as Obama is considering whether to vastly expand the amount of US resources invested in the eight-year war, including deploying tens of thousands more troops amid some of the conflict's worst violence and an Afghan government roiled by allegations of fraud in August elections. The telephone conversation with Gul covered a range of issues, "reflecting the broad strategic dialogue the United States conducts with this key ally," the White House said in a statement. The two leaders also spoke about the "historic progress" being made to normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia, "and the importance of maintaining the momentum in this important effort," it added. Former foes Turkey and Armenia signed historic deals last week that were backed by world powers to end decades of hostility, establish formal ties and open their border. Obama and Gul also discussed "the need for sustained engagement in resolving the Cyprus problem and in promoting stability in Bosnia-Herzegovina," the White House said. "The two Presidents agreed on the importance of continued consultations on these and other key topics on the global security agenda." But the White House did not say whether the two leaders discussed Turkey's rocky relations with Israel, amid a recent exchange of verbal volleys between the two strategic allies. Ties between Ankara and Tel Aviv began to sour in January when Turkey strongly condemned Israel's 22-day assault on the Gaza Strip, which was launched to counter rocket attacks by Palestinian militants. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this week that Obama had invited him to visit Washington on October 29, according to the Anatolia news agency. The US president visited Turkey in April.
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