Burns’ visit postponed due to deadly Benghazi attack

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns’ visit to Turkey scheduled for today has been postponed due to the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi on Sept 11, in which U.S. ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other American embassy staff members were killed.

Burns was on a trip in the region including stops in Jordan and Iraq, and Turkey would have been the last stop. U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey is expected to visit Turkey over the weekend to discuss Syria.Meanwhile, Attorney General Eric Holder will travel to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey and hold talks with Turkish officials on Sept. 17 and 18.

No postponement  for Richard

Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Anne C. Richard will travel to Istanbul, Adana, and Ankara, Turkey from Sept. 10-15.

In Istanbul, Richard will consult with the Resettlement Support Center, which processes refugee referrals for resettlement to the United States.

She will also attend a cultural orientation for refugees who have been accepted for resettlement in the U.S. During her visit to Adana she will be joined by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, Nancy Lindborg.

They will focus on the response to the humanitarian crisis emanating from the escalating violence in Syria and then travel on to Ankara.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry also condemned the attack. “Turkey strongly condemns this heinous attack and offers condolences and expresses solidarity with the relatives of those who lost their lives,” the ministry said in a statement late Sept. 12.

Turkey expects that those responsible for the attack will be brought to justice in the shortest possible time, the ministry said.