‘STRONG TIES WOULD BE SHATTERED’

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Feb 10 2007

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul on Thursday expressed Ankara’s
concern over the so-called genocide resolution set to be debated
in the U.S. House of Representatives, saying strong U.S.-Turkish
relations would be shattered if Congress passes the resolution.

Gul, in a lunch with Washington Post editors and reporters, criticizing
the so-called Armenian genocide bill, said, "If it passes, there will
be a real shock in Turkey."

"The Turkish government would not be able to prevent popular demands
to stop cooperating with the United States," he added.

Turkey strongly opposes the claims that its predecessor state, the
Ottoman government, caused the Armenian deaths in a planned genocide.

The Turkish government has said the toll is wildly inflated and that
Armenians were killed or displaced in civil unrest during the empire’s
collapse and conditions of World War I. Ankara’s proposal to Yerevan
to set up a joint commission of historians to examine the events of
1915 is still awaiting a positive response from the Armenian side.

U.S diplomatic sources stated that Congress, including the House of
Representatives, is a branch independent from the U.S. administration,
adding that President George W. Bush and his administration lost
clout after the Democrats gained control of Congress last fall. "But
Bush will have to persuade the new Democratic-controlled congress,
which does not need presidential approval, for such a non-binding
resolution," they added.

Britain’s Financial Times reported on Friday that Turkey’s strained
relationship with the Bush administration is likely to worsen after
Gul failed to make significant progress on Ankara’s main objectives
in Washington this week.

"Disagreements, centered on Iraq and a resolution proposed in the
U.S. Congress that would officially recognize the mass killings of
Ottoman Armenians as genocide, threaten to intensify anti-American
sentiment in Turkey, while raising concerns in the U.S. about a
possible Turkish military intervention in northern Iraq," it said.

The daily stated that Gul will not leave Washington a very happy man,
quoting Bulent Aliriza, analyst with the think-tank the Center for
Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), as saying, "Relations
will take a hit."

The Times quoted Gul’s speech characterizing the resolution as a real
threat, in which he said, "It really is a nightmare for us and for
you. It will overshadow and spoil everything between us"

The Turkish foreign minister, in the meeting with Washington Post
editors and reporters, also warned that a referendum planned this
year on the status of the Iraqi city of Kirkuk should be canceled or
else the outcome might widen the sectarian violence that has largely
left the northern part of Iraq untouched.

"If Kirkuk is included in one region, that will be a big mistake,"
Gul said. "Some people want to escape from this bad situation, but
they should not fall into a worse situation." The partitioning of Iraq,
he said, "would be the worst situation."

Gul said he raised Turkey’s concerns about the referendum with U.S.
officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in meetings
this week. "I saw awareness about this problem," he said. "Last year
it was not like that."

Gul further warned that Washington must take action against militants
from the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). He noted that
Turkey is an active contributor of troops to Afghanistan but said,
"We won’t accept a double standard here," indicating that Turkish
patience is running out.

In related news, Gul met with new United Nations Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon on Friday and discussed the Cyprus problem. During the
meeting, Gul expressed Ankara’s support for Undersecretary General
for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari’s initiative and asked Ki-moon
to be responsive.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress