WASHINGTON
Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu held a series of meetings with senior officials from US State Department.
US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a daily press briefing on Tuesday that Siniroglu had meetings as part of the ongoing consultation between Turkey and United States, adding that he met with Deputy Secretary of State William Burns.
Nuland said Secretary of State briefly took part in the meeting which was also attended by Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasian Affairs Phil Gordon, Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs Beth Jones, and Special Envoy for Energy Affairs Carlos Pascual.
Nuland said the meeting discussed the Syria crisis, Iraq and "the importance of international solidarity in Iran" as well as efforts to promote the Middle East peace.
"They also discussed US continuing support for Turkey's efforts to combat terrorism and to deepen justice and rule of law in Turkey and to bolster US-Turkish economic ties," Nuland said.
Responding to a question whether Turkish-Israeli relations came up during the meeting, Nuland said, "Well, whenever we meet with Turks, the issue of Israel usually comes up. And whenever we meet with Israelis, the issue of Turkey usually comes up. So I don't have anything specific on the Ayalon meeting, but usually we are, as allies of both countries, trying to support increased dialogue and better relations between them."
Danny Ayalon, the Israeli deputy foreign minister, also held meetings at the Department of State on Monday, including one with the US deputy secretary of state.
