The Jerusalem Post.
Feb 22, 2009 13:22 | Updated Feb 22, 2009 13:23
Turks appear to set conditions for relations with US

The Turkish ambassador to the US, Nabi Sensoy, told a group of
American reporters on Friday that he hoped the new US administration
would recognize the importance of the so-called Armenian issue to
Turkey and the negative effects that a recognition of Armenian claims
might have for Turkish-US relations, the Turkish daily Hurriyet
reported.

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In this photo provided by the Photlure photo agency in Armenia, a boy
pauses in front of a wall-sized poster depicting the faces of 90
survivors of the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, in
Yerevan, Armenia.
Photo: AP [file]

Slideshow: Pictures of the week In 1915, the Ottoman Empire, on whose
ruins modern Turkey is built, launched a campaign against the
country’s Armenian minority which lived in the eastern part of the
country, that left an estimated one and a half million Armenians dead
and even more fleeing the country.

So far Turkey has refused to recognize the claim of responsibility
sought by Armenians.

In the Turkish media, the events are described as an armed struggle
between the Ottoman Empire and Armenian nationals backed by Russia
which left 300,000 dead on each side.

The coverage of the issue is the subject of one of the most
controversial laws of Turkish media, article 301, under which it is
illegal to insult Turkey, the Turkish nation and Turkish government
institutions.

The law has been severely criticized by media freedom organizations,
as well as the European Union, which Ankara wants to join.

US President Barack Obama, as well as Vice President Joe Biden and
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton all pledged during last year’s US
election campaign that they would recognize the Armenian claim.

In 2007, Sensoy was recalled to Ankara to protest the attempts to have
the Armenian claim recognized by Congress.