Sabah, Turkey
Feb 9 2007

US-Turkey relations may go downhill

British Financial Times Newspaper wrote that Turkey’s strained
relationship with the Bush administration is likely to worsen after
the foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, failed to make significant
progress on Ankara’s main objectives in Washington this week.

FT commented that disagreements, centered on Iraq and a resolution
proposed in the US 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 US
about a possible Turkish military intervention in northern Iraq.
According to Financial Times, Abdullah Gul’s week-long visit to the
US had three main aims: to get a firm US commitment to act against
anti-Turkish PKK militants in northern Iraq; to postpone a referendum
due this year on the status of Iraq’s Kurdish-claimed and oil-rich
city of Kirkuk; and to lobby against the Armenia resolution. However,
the proposed genocide resolution – which is backed by key lawmakers,
including Nancy Pelosi, Democratic speaker of the House – posed a
"real threat" to US-Turkey relations.
Ms Pelosi signaled her position by not being available to meet Mr
Gul.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress