FACTBOX: RECENT U.S.-TURKISH RELATIONS

Reuters, UK
040497620071031
Oct 31 2007

(Reuters) – Turkey is expected to push U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice in talks this week to follow through on promises to
help eradicate Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. But experts say the
top U.S. diplomat’s hands are tied.

Following are some facts about recent U.S.-Turkish relations.

* On October 10, the House Foreign Relations Committee approved
a resolution branding the massacre of an estimated 1.5 million
Armenians from 1915 to 1923 as genocide, brushing aside President
George W. Bush’s warnings that it would harm relations with Turkey.

* The panel’s vote enraged Turkey, which recalled its ambassador
for consultations. Since that vote, U.S. support for the Armenian
genocide resolution has faltered, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
said it was uncertain whether it would come to the floor for a vote
by the full House.

* The Foreign Relations Committee agreed on October 23 to give Turkey
several decommissioned U.S. military ships, but the legislator who
sponsored the plan denied it was intended to temper Ankara’s anger
over U.S. legislation on Armenian genocide.

* In September 2003, the Bush administration informed Congress that
it was ready to provide Turkey with up to $8.5 billion in loans. Bush
offered the money to Ankara despite its refusal to allow U.S. troops
to use Turkish soil during the war in Iraq.

* U.S.-Turkish relations suffered a setback in July 2003 after
American troops arrested Turkish commandos in northern Iraq suspected
of plotting an attack on a local Kurdish official – an accusation
Ankara denied. The men were released two days later.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress