Clinton: Obama to visit Turkey soon

ANKARA, Turkey, March 7 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Saturday that President Barack Obama will visit Turkey within the month.

Speaking to Turkish officials Saturday on an official visit to Ankara, Clinton said Obama would pay a call to the nation before March was over in order to "emphasize the work the United States and Turkey must do together on behalf of peace, prosperity and progress," CNN reported.

Clinton met early Saturday with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and had a meeting scheduled with President Abdullah Gul, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported.

One topic of discussion was Turkey's announced willingness to allow U.S. troops to use the country's ports as exit routes for military units pulling out of Iraq, the newspaper said.

Also on the agenda for Clinton's trip to Ankara were discussions about Turkey's fight against the separatist group and terror organization the Kurdistan Workers' Party as well as France's decision to rejoin the military wing of NATO, officials said.

Clinton and Turkish officials also planned discussions about the Middle East situation as well as moves in the U.S. Congress attempts to have the United States recognize Armenian claims of genocide against Turkey stemming from actions taken by the Ottoman Empire in 1915, Hurriyet reported.