Azernews.Az

ANKARA – The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen was to hold talks with Turkish officials Friday after the US combat mission in neighbouring Iraq formally ended, officials said, AFP reported.

Mullen was to meet with Turkey's new chief of staff, Isik Kosaner, who took office last week, and Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul, foreign ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal told reporters.

"There are no set agenda items for this introductory visit," a US embassy statement said.

Unal said preliminary talks were already under way between the two NATO allies for the transport of US non-combat technical equipment from Iraq via Turkey.

US forces ended their combat mission in Iraq Tuesday, drawing down troop numbers that had surged to almost 170,000 following the 2003 US-led invasion to less than 50,000, prior to a complete withdrawal at the end of 2011.

The Milliyet daily reported that Mullen would seek a Turkish permission to transport combat equipment out of Iraq through Turkish territory.

He was also expected to explore the possibility of stationing missile defence systems on Turkish soil as a deterrent measure against Iran, Turkey's eastern neighbour, according to Milliyet.

Turkey disagrees with the United States on the approach to Iran's nuclear programme, insisting on a diplomatic solution to the dispute, while Washington favours sanctions.

In May, together with Brazil, it hammered out a nuclear fuel swap deal with Tehran.

In a move that irked Washington, the country voted "no" to fresh sanctions against Iran, adopted by the UN Security Council in June, insisting that the swap deal should be given a chance.

The United States has expressed concern also over the deep crisis in Turkey's ties with one-time ally Israel since nine Turks were killed in an Israeli operation on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla on May 31.