Obama to visit Turkey next month

American President Barack Obama will visit Turkey, a Muslim country, on his next month his top diplomat, Hillary Clinton, said Saturday, holding Turkey up as proof that democracy and Islam can coexist.

Obama said after he was elected that he would he would visit a Muslim nation, and the choice of a secular Muslim democracy with aspirations of joining the European Union reflects the value Washington places on links with Ankara as it tries to forge a better relationship with the Islamic world.

"Democracy and modernity and Islam can all coexist," Secretary of State Clinton said in Ankara, appearing on a popular Turkish television chat show, Hadi Gel Bizimle (Come and Join Us).

"I really consider the role of Turkey as a global leader very important," she told her four female interviewers.

After eight years of former President George W. Bush, who invaded two Muslim countries and gave strong support to Israel, Obama has pledged a "new way forward" with the Muslim world.

There has been speculation he might use Turkey as a platform for a widely expected major policy speech on ties between the United States and Islamic countries.

"He will be visiting Turkey within the next month or so. The exact date will be announced shortly. We are coordinating with the Turkish government to find a date that works," Clinton told a news conference along with Foreign Minister Ali Babacan.

Democracy and modernity and Islam can all coexist

Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State

Turkish mediation

Clinton, who also met Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul, said her trip had focused on Ankara's role in Middle East peacemaking, particularly in mediating between Israel and Syria.

"The importance of this track, the peace effort, cannot be overstated. Turkey has played a very important role."

They also discussed bilateral relations, Iraq, Afghanistan and the fight against terrorism, a statement by Erdogan's press service said.

The statement called the United States a "friend and ally."

A senior U.S. official earlier said on condition of anonymity Obama's administration had "a chance to rebuild on a better footing after the most acute problems accumulated in the Bush administration have finally been taken off" the table.

In an interview with CNN Turk, Clinton said Washington will seek Turkey's help for Obama's plan to engage Iran, a major shift in U.S. policy. Ankara has warm ties with Tehran.

The United States is at odds with Iran on a range of issues, including Tehran's nuclear program, which Washington says is aimed at building bombs but which Iran says is peaceful.

We're going to require your help with Iran, especially in terms of affecting a change in Iran's stance

Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State

"We're going to require your help with Iran, especially in terms of affecting a change in Iran's stance," she said.

Also discussed were NATO's role in Afghanistan, where Turkey has 800 troops, as well as intelligence-sharing in the fight against Kurdish rebels, and the situation in Iraq, she said.

Turkey, which refused to let U.S. troops deploy on its territory for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, has signaled it would allow them to use its bases and ports to withdraw, after Obama pledged to pull out combat forces by 2010.

There has been a wave of anti-Americanism in Turkey, particularly following the Iraq war, and many of those tensions linger. But Clinton said Turkey and the United States stood "shoulder to shoulder" in tackling global challenges.

"The relationship between our two countries is one of alliance, partnership and friendship," she said.

Getting personal

In her appearance on the popular TV talk show that focuses on women's issues, several women asked Clinton about Michelle Obama, whom the secretary of state praised as a good role model.

None brought up Clinton's personal life, but one asked her about a comment she made during her swearing-in ceremony at the State Department on Feb. 2 in which she thanked her husband for "a lifetime of - all kinds of experiences." The woman asked how she coped with those experiences.

Clinton replied that she relied on forgiveness, friends, family and faith.

"I don't know anybody whose life is smooth sailing. If you meet such a
person I'd like to know him because I've lived a long time and I've yet to
meet such a person," she said.

I don't know anybody whose life is smooth sailing

Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State