The head of American-Turkish Council (ATC) said Sunday that results of the upcoming U.S. presidential election would not affect Turkish-American relations much, no matter who the winner would be.

ATC chairman Brent Scowcroft is currently in capital Ankara to hold a series of talks with Turkish officials.

Holding a press conference prior to his talks, Scowcroft said the new U.S. president will be aware of Turkey's importance for U.S.

Regarding the global economic crisis, Scowcroft said the Turkish economy does not seem to be quite affected by the crisis thanks to the reforms carried out in the country's banking sector recently.

However, if the crisis got deeper, it might have a negative impact on Turkish economy as well, Scowcroft said.
Commenting on Turkey's position in the Caucasus region, Scowcroft said that Turkey is an important actor for the region and it might play a strategic role in providing a secure atmosphere among countries such as Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Scowcroft said that he is optimistic about the process recently initiated between Turkey and Armenia. He also said that the ways to improve the Turkey-U.S. relations will be on the agenda of his meetings.

Scowcroft said that he will first meet Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, General Staff Chief Gen. Ilker Basbug and Energy Minister Hilmi Guler in Ankara, and later on, he would proceed to Istanbul, Worldbulletin.net reports.