The words are also important. The words have meaning. The rhetoric has meaning. Burns made sure that his words would not be construed as being directed at Erbakan's pro-Islamic preferences. There is nothing disturbing about the Islamic concerns of the Turkish government.
Turkey is an Islamic country.
And if Turkey intends to build its relations with Arab countries, Muslim countries, that's fine. That makes sense for Turkey. US, Western Europe. Turkey has a relationship with Greece that must be carried out in a productive, constructive fashion. THE WEST Foreign Minister Ciller yesterday hosted leading western ambassadors at a dinner during which she reassured them that Turkey would not abandon pro-western foreign policies.