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ANKARA, Turkey (AP) Strong anti-American
sentiment continues in Turkey two years after the
country angered Washington by refusing passage to
U.S. troops going in Iraq. Turkish leaders also
worry that the war could lead to the disintegration
of neighboring Iraq and the creation of a Kurdish
state in the northern areas.
That could embolden Kurds in southeastern Turkey,
where the Turkish army has been battling Kurdish
rebels since 1984. The fighting has left 37,000
dead.
"I'm here really in part to say to the Turks that we
are fully committed, fully committed, to a unified
Iraq," in which all political parties and
ethnicities are represented, Rice said on the way to
Ankara.
After meeting with Rice, Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, "In terms of our
strategic partnership, relations between Turkey and
the United States are at a positive and mature
point, and they will continue with the same maturity
and in the same positive way."
AP
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