PM HOPES ‘GENOCIDE’ PLEDGES REMAIN IN ELECTIONEERING
Today’s Zaman
Nov 6 2008
Turkey
Speaking yesterday on the occasion of the election of Barack Obama
to the presidency of the United States, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan said changes in the administrations of the US and Turkey have
never altered the characteristics of bilateral relations between the
countries, which are based on mutual strategic interests.
He said relations with US President-elect Barack Obama’s administration
should continue in the same vein as before.
Responding to questions from reporters, Erdogan also said he expected
certain ideas expressed by Obama during his election campaign to
remain just part of electioneering and not to be developed further
by the White House in the new term, in apparent reference to the
strong pledges made by Obama to officially recognize the so-called
Armenian genocide.
Obama’s election as the first black president in US political history
has "crossed a threshold," Erdogan first noted.
"With this result, we can say that the problem of white and black
no longer exists there [in the United States], because it was not
possible to get such a result only from the black vote. There must
have been a serious shift in the white vote so that such a result
was achieved. I congratulate Obama, his energetic campaigning and
the efforts by his team," Erdogan continued.
"The burden on the shoulders of the United States is very different
compared to other countries, as it is a strong country with more
opportunities in its hands. Obama will carry such a burden at a time of
global crisis. The US has a much larger responsibility to contribute to
global peace. At this point, we must assess some rhetoric that appeared
during the election campaign that we hope was limited to the campaign
and will remain there," the prime minister added, referring to Obama’s
approach towards a recognition of Armenian genocide allegations.
Emphasizing that mutual strategic interests have always been a
determining factor in bilateral relations between Turkey and the United
Sates, Erdogan expressed hope that the this relationship would not
be harmed by the new administration taking office. The prime minister
didn’t exclude the possibility of having a meeting with Obama when he
travels to Washington later this month to attend a financial summit
of the Group of 20 (G-20) countries called by current US President
George W. Bush.
"We will try to have a meeting if Obama’s hectic schedule to form
his cabinet lets him spare time for such a meeting," Erdogan said,
while, on his final note, he wished for Obama’s term to contribute
to democracy, peace and solidarity in the world as well as to the
Middle East peace process.
President Abdullah Gul, at a joint press conference with Azerbaijan’s
visiting President Ä°lham Aliyev, also congratulated Obama on his
victory, saying he wished Obama’s presidency to cement stability and
security not only for the American people, but for the entire world.
"I hope that a new presidency begins for the entire world," Gul
said. In Rome, while participating in a Turkish-Italian forum,
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan echoed the same sentiments of Gul and
Erdogan when asked about Obama’s election.
"We hope the US will make more contributions to the world’s peace,
security and stability after these elections," Babacan said, noting
that the Turkish government has been in contact with Obama’s staff
already. The minister also said the foreign policy issues of priority
for Ankara and Washington match each other to a large extent, as these
issues are related to the geography in the region surrounding Turkey.
–Boundary_(ID_xs0x+wDmiFdQRR1UJR6MfA)–