Video Bush meets Turkish PM Erdogan

1. US President George W. Bush and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan seated in Oval Office

2. SOUNDBITE (English with Turkish translation): George W. Bush, US President:

"We just had an extensive and important dialogue about how Turkey and the United States can and must work together to achieve a peace. We talked about our determined efforts to fight terror and extremism. We talked about our common efforts to bring stability to the Middle East. We had an important discussion about both Iraq and Iran."

3. Zoom-in to Erdogan listening to Bush

4. SOUNDBITE (English) George W. Bush, US President:

"I made it very clear to the prime minister, I think it's in the United States' interests that Turkey join the European Union."

5. SOUNDBITE (Turkish with English translation): Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Prime Minister:

"Distinguished members of the press, it is a great honour and pleasure to be here upon the invitation of President Bush, an ally. The United States is a strategic partner, a very important strategic partner for Turkey and an ally for many years. In our meeting, we had the opportunity to discuss many points, especially terrorism. And the joint steps that we have taken in order to pursue with determination our fight against terrorism continues to be very important in our relations."

6. Pull-out Erdogan and Bush shaking hands

STORYLINE:

United States President George W. Bush welcomed the Turkish prime minister to the White House on Monday, as Turkey's top general accused his own government of encouraging Islamic fundamentalism.

General Yasar Buyukanit said on Monday that the military must preserve its role as guardian of a secular state even against threats from within.

The military has taken no direct action on its own to crack down on Islamic radicalism, but its increasing willingness to put pressure on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government suggests an ambition to muscle back into the centre of political life.

The remarks came as Erdogan met on Monday with Bush in Washington for talks about Turkey's fight with autonomy-seeking Kurdish rebels.

Bush said he and Erdogan discussed their shared "efforts to fight terror and extremism" and their attempts to bring stability to the Middle East.

Erdogan told reporters that the joint steps taken by the two countries in the fight against terrorism "continues to be very important in our relations."

Erdogan has appointed Islamic-minded officials to key civil posts, and governing party members have questioned the definition of secularism.

Military leaders suspect the government is prioritising an Islamic agenda over Turkey's bid for European Union membership.

The EU, however, has said Turkey's military wields too much power and wants Turkey's government to exert control over its generals.

Such a job would be daunting for Erdogan's government, as the military is hugely influential and popular in the country of 70 (m) million.




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