Marc Grossman, who served in important positions within the U.S. Department of State such as the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs (2001-2005), Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (1997-2000) and U.S. Ambassador to Turkey (1994-1991), came to Ankara upon the invitation of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) on October 14, 2005. As part of the First TOBB-Brookings Platform, he made a speech to a large audience at TOBB University and talked about Turkish-American relations from the perspective of Turkey's EU membership process. In the afternoon of the same day, he attended a roundtable discussion at TEPAV|EPRI and evaluated the Cyprus issue from a transatlantic perspective.