Bush friend and advisor Karen Hughes on her way to Ankara

The flow of high ranking visits from Washington, DC to Ankara continues this week with the arrival of US President George W. Bush's close friend and image advisor Karen Hughes. Hughes, who will be hosted in Ankara by the Foreign Ministry, is currently on a tour of the Middle East, having already passed through Egypt and Saudi Arabia accompanied by a large group of US based journalists and television correspondents. Speaking with reporters on the plane as she was heading towards her first stop in Egypt, Hughes said this about her upcoming visit to Turkey: "The third stop on my visit will be Turkey. Turkey is a very important democratic country, as well as being a bridge between Europe and Asia, and a key ally. We will be arriving in Turkey as they are preparing for EU accession talks. These talks are an event which we support in full."  Â