Turkey president wants to strengthen U.S. ties

The Turkish refusal last month surprised Washington and scuppered its plans to drive a heavily-armed force south from NATO ally Turkey towards Baghdad. Analysts say such a "northern front" might have shortened the war.
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said in a statement after meeting Powell in Ankara that Turkey had opened its airspace to U.S. and British warplanes.
"President Sezer…said that it was necessary to pursue efforts to strengthen the relationship between Turkey and the United States," the statement said.
It said Powell had promised Turkey that Washington would "not allow developments that Turkey does not desire" in northern Iraq — a reference to Turkish fears that Iraqi Kurdish groups might make a bid for independence or seek to control the Iraqi oil cities of Mosul and Kirkuk.