US' Bryza: "Closure of the AKP would be unfortunate, but the US can't intercede"

If the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is closed down and Turkey's European Union talks are halted, this would be unfortunate and hurt US interests, but it would be Turkey's business, said US Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Matt Bryza yesterday. Bryza made the remarks after giving the Turgut Ozal Memorial Lecture at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Asked about the AKP closure case, Bryza said closure of the AKP would be quite unfortunate, and added, "But this is Turkey's business. It would be inappropriate for us to issue an ultimatum." He also said, "Turkey's democratic system, its constitutional order, is evolving and it must evolve if Turkey wants to continue walking on its path to EU accession. Things will happen in Turkey that may not accord with the way we structure our democracy, but at the end of the day, honestly, we really are confident that the Turkish democratic system is strong enough to work this out." He also said that Turkish-US relations have improved since 2004.