A senior U.S. official said Thursday that Washington was not for or against Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) regarding a legal closure case targeting the party, reiterating the U.S. position that the constitutional crisis should be resolved in line with the voters' will and the country's secular democratic principles. "We hope very much in our government that, as Secretary [of State Condoleezza] Rice said recently, Turkish voters will determine the political future of Turkey and that all is resolved in full accordance with Turkey's traditional secular values and democracy," said Matt Bryza, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs.He was speaking at a conference of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TÜSÝAD) on U.S.-Turkish relations and responding to a question on Washington's view on the closure case against the AKP. "There's no hidden message here, we're not being pro- or anti-AKP," Bryza said.
Then speaking on the future of the U.S.-Turkish energy relationship, Bryza said, "I have confidence that whoever is elected to the leadership of Turkey in the future will have the same sort of strategic vision with this government and the previous governments."The reporters asked on the sidelined of the conference for clarification as to whether Bryza was referring to an election following an expected closure verdict."In some point in the future some day, who knows when, there'll be Turkish elections again. I have no idea when that'll be. Who knows, it depends on either when the current AKP government's term runs out or the AKP government decides to call for new elections. I don't know when there'll be new elections," he said.Asked how Washington would respond if the AKP were closed down, he said: "I don't know, this is a hypothetical question. All I can say is that voters will determine the future. This is what democracy is about."
This is cache, read story here