Political junkies across the United States and the world have had Feb. 5 circled on their calendars for months. After all, 24 states voted for presidential nominees that day, the biggest primary day in US history.

Republicans had a clear winner. Senator John McCain was badly wounded in the Vietnam War decades ago and he's been hurt politically because of his support for the war in Iraq, but following Super Tuesday, he savored victory.

McCain's chief rival, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, announced Thursday that he was ending his campaign. And with Romney out, Senator McCain is locked in as the frontrunner in the Republican Party race, while Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton face the prospects of a long fight between themselves for the Democratic Party's nomination. Foreign policy plays a bigger role than usual for voters in the US election this year as the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan continue, and the world has come closer to Americans since they were hit by terror on Sept. 11, 2001.

For Sundays Zaman, Suat KINIKLIOGLU, Member of Parliament and Spokesman of the Foreign Affairs Committee spoke with us about the US election and the possible effects of its results on Turkey-US relations.

First of all, do you think this going to be an election in which foreign policy would play a big role?

No, US elections are traditionally more about domestic issues and this one is no exception. There is no doubt that the relative calm facilitated by the surge also factored in this.

Then, we can start by looking at Democratic Party presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Observers cite that looking at her advisors, Mrs. Clinton's foreign policy regarding Turkey would be similar to that of Mr. Clinton's so there should not be a doubt on expectations. On the other hand, since Mr. Obama is a new figure and talks about change so much, what change it holds for Turkey is quite unknown. Do you agree with that conviction?

There is no doubt that Clinton’s foreign policy team is better known in Turkey but this should not be a determining factor. I was privileged to meet some members of Obama’s foreign policy team and it is not like we are talking about monumental differences here. That said, Obama’s stance on the events of 1915 are more committed to the Armenian Diaspora. Obviously, this is not a very desirable situation. What change in US politics would mean for Turkey constitutes a huge question mark. I don’t think Americans really know what Obama would mean for them. Hillary’s presidency would mean more predictability for Turkey; Obama would mean change but there is a lot of sympathy for Obama in the US and probably in Europe as well.     

On the Republican side, what do you think about how Mr. McCain would handle foreign policy toward Turkey?

McCain is a very interesting man and I admire his principled stance on issues pertaining to US foreign policy. I think he is the only candidate who knows Turkey very well and understands Iraq, the regional setting as well as Turkey’s strategic role in the region extremely well. McCain represents acute awareness of Turkey’s security-producing role and would probably prefer a Turkish-US partnership that would call for active Turkish engagement in the region. On Turkish issues McCain has a good understanding as he has a very strategic outlook.  

If you give a chance to other nominees, how do you think they would approach Turkey in their presidential terms?

Frankly, the views of other nominees on Turkey such as Romney and Huckabee are not well known.  It would be worth examining where Romney is on Turkey. Yet, I believe the next US president will be either Hillary, Obama or McCain.