Today’s Zaman , Turkey
March 8 2009
New era started in Turkish-U.S. relations, Turkey’s foreign minister
Turkey’s foreign minister said on Sunday that a new era began in
relations between Turkey and USA after the new U.S. administration
took office.
Attending a program on private NTV channel, Babacan said that Turkey
and USA’s priorities in foreign politics were totally in line with
each other.
Commenting on U.S. President Barack Obama’s upcoming visit to Turkey,
Babacan said that the exact date of the visit would be announced by
U.S. officials.
Upon a question on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s not using
the expression "moderate Islam" for Turkey, Babacan said Turkey was an
important example showing that democracy, secularism and Islam could
coexist, adding that USA attached great importance to this fact.
Babacan also said that Obama’s paying one of his very first visits to
Turkey was an "important message to the world".
Replying to a question on whether Obama would use the word "genocide"
while describing the incidents of 1915 in his speech on April 24,
Babacan said, "Time will show what will happen. I still see a risk at
that point, however, the important thing is that the new
U.S. administration perceived Turkey’s sensitivity on certain issues".
Babacan also said that good developments took place towards the
normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations.
"The tripartite mechanism among Turkey, the United States and Iraq in
the fight against the PKK terrorist organization will
continue. Besides military struggle, we need to benefit from economic,
socio-cultural and diplomatic instruments to succeed in the fight
against the PKK. The withdrawal of U.S. soldiers from Iraq should be
carried out gradually to prevent any difficulties," he said.
Babacan said that the United States did not request Turkey to dispatch
reinforcement units in Afghanistan.
Referring to the relations with Iran, Babacan highlighted importance
of dialogue and diplomacy in efforts to find a solution. "I do not
convey any messages from the United States to Iran," he said.
Upon a question about the relations with Israel, Babacan said, "our
contacts have never been halted. We believe that the only way to
resolve problems is dialogue. We have strategic relations with Israel
based on national interests of both countries."
When asked about the decision of the International Criminal Court
(ICC) which issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar
Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur, Babacan said, "actually,
our priority is protection of stability and peace in Sudan. No one
should ignore likely impacts of arrest of the president on Sudanese
people."
08 March 2009, Sunday
THE ANATOLIA NEWS AGENCY ANKARA
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
