No matter who wins, Turkey is not alone, says Ricciardone

ISTANBUL

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U.S. cooperation with Turkey will continue regardless of who wins the presidential election, U.S. ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone has said at Istanbul's Haydarpaşa port, which the U.S. embassy is using as its "election base" for the night.

Saying that Turkey is not alone on the issue of Syria, Ricciardone told the Hürriyet Daily News that even if there was a change in administration he would not expect major changes in Washington's Syria policies, and that a military intervention was unlikely.

"Like Turkey, the U.S. is not disposed to intervention, and we are both sorry about the ongoing issues in Syria. Both Obama and Romney said that they wouldn't turn their back on the Syrian people in their election campaigns, so I wouldn't expect major changes in U.S. foreign policy," he said. 

Ricciardone also denied that Turkey was isolated, saying that the international community stood together with it on the issue of Syria. 

"The one who has been isolated is Syrian President Bashar al-Assad," he said.

Asked how well the election system, which is based on electoral college instead of popular vote, was working, Ricciardone said it was a 200-year-old system that no one in America found ideal, in an interview aired on private CNNTürk news channel.

"The system becomes a subject of debate every four-year term, but nobody is sure about how we can get a better system. Therefore, we would not recommend this system for everyone," he said. "It has so far given us satisfying results, so I think we will continue with the system for a long time yet.”