Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb 9 2007

`Genocide’ Issue Tops Gül’s Talks with US Congressmen

Friday , 09 February 2007

In Washington for talks with senior US officials, Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gül met with John Murtha, the chairman of the defense
sub-committee of the House of Representatives Appropriations
Committee, and House majority leader Congressman Steny Hoyer.

During both meetings Gül said a resolution proposed to the US House
of Representatives constitutes a threat to relations between the two
countries.

Gül later had talks with Congressman Robert Wexler, co-chairman of
the Turkish- American Friendship Group, Tom Lantos, the chairman of
the House Committee on Foreign Relations, and Congressman Roy Blunt.
Lantos had supported Turkey’s position on the "Armenian genocide"
issue in the past, but after the Turkish Parliament’s refusal on
March 1, 2003 to allow the deployment of 62,000 US troops in Turkish
territory to launch a northern front in the war with Iraq, Lantos
said he would shift his position and back the resolution.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Levent Balman said Gül’s meetings
at the US Congress have been positive. US State Department spokesman
Sean McCormack said, "We understand very clearly that this is a
sensitive issue not only for the Turkish people but also for the
Armenian people." McCormack also said that the State Department is
working with the Congress to pass Turkey’s concerns regarding the
issue. However, he said, "I think Gül and the Turkish government
understand how our government system work, and that the Congress is a
separate body."
US President George Bush will have to persuade the new
Democratic-controlled congress, which does not need presidential
approval to pass such a resolution. Members behind the proposed bill
have said they expect a push by the administration and lobbyists
working for the Turkish government to keep the resolution from a full
vote by the House. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who will decide
whether to offer the bill for a full vote if, as expected, it is
approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has already
expressed support.

Gül said they do not plan to meet with Pelosi because she is "too
engaged" in the issue but he will meet with her close aides and
friends to make sure Turkey’s views are heard. Turkey rejects the
"genocide" label and argues that only 300,000 Armenians and at least
as many Turks died in mutual civil strife.