Turkey and U.S. natural allies, says Turkish finmin

WASHINGTON (A.A) - December 1, 2011 - Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said Wednesday that Turkey and the United States were not just strategic partners but also natural allies. Speaking at an annual conference titled "New difficulties and Opportunities" and co-hosted by the Turkish-American Council and Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey (TUSKON) in Washington, Simsek said that Turkey and the U.S. made efforts to facilitate peace and democracy in the Middle East. Turkey and the United States fight against global terror and radicalism, support a united Iraq that does not shelter terrorists and wish for the Arab peoples to reach better democratic standards, Simsek noted. Turkey strongly supports the United States' fight against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. We are pleased with the U.S. support to Turkey in the fight against terrorist organization PKK. We appreciate the latest steps taken by the U.S. as such steps made Turkey's fight against PKK more effective, Simsek said. As members of the G20, Turkey and the U.S. work together so that the global economy performs better. Our two countries share values such as democracy, human rights and the rule of law, Simsek said. Simsek called on the U.S. business community to work with Turkish counterparts in diverse fields, including renewable energy, infrastructure, tourism and biotechnology. Touching on Turkey's EU membership process, Simsek said that Turkish membership in the EU would prevent the clash of civilizations and facilitate the alliance of civilizations