The New Anatolian: "Gul, Rice exchange ideas on Iran"

Both Turkish and U.S. sources declined to comment on the details of the phone conversation but said that the request came from the Turkish side.

In related news U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Ross Wilson made a surprise visit to Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday, hours before a Cabinet meeting.

Turkish sources said yesterday that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is planning to visit Washington soon and an official request for that has been conveyed to U.S. officials. Erdogan is willing to meet U.S. President George Bush and discuss recent developments in the region and the Iranian nuclear crisis.

Prime Minister Erdogan met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad twice in the last fortnight on the sidelines of summits in Bali and Azerbaijan.

Erdogan stated that Iran has the right to continue a nuclear program for peaceful purposes, underlining the necessity for the country to be transparent about its nuclear activities to convince the international community of their real purpose. But Erdogan also urged the international community not to push Iran to change its regime, warning of the dangers of such a move for the region.

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