Kennedy of US State department due in Ankara

Kennedy, who was appointed to replace Lynn Pascoe, is expected to arrive in Ankara on July 20. Kennedy will hold talks with officials from the Foreign Ministry and the General Staff.

Kennedy will then head for Cyprus to meet with officials from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) and the Greek Cypriot administration on July 21.

The issues of Cyprus, Iraq, the anti-terror fight, Turkey’s bid to join the European Union and bilateral relations are all expected to be on the agenda of the talks.

Pascoe had previously chaired the U.S. delegation at the first round of talks between Turkey and the United States aimed at eliminating the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) — which now goes by the name Kongra-Gel — currently holed up in northern Iraq.