Anadolu Agency, Turkey
March 8 2009
Turkish foreign minister says Obama’s visit "important message to the world"
Ankara, 8 March: Turkey’s foreign minister said on Sunday [8 March]
that a new era began in relations between Turkey and USA after the new
US administration took office.
Attending a programme on private NTV channel, Babacan said that Turkey
and USA’s priorities in foreign politics were totally in line with
each other.
Commenting on US President Barack Obama ‘s upcoming visit to Turkey,
Babacan said that the exact date of the visit would be announced by US
officials.
Upon a question on US 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 24 April
Babacan said, "Time will show what will happen. I still see a risk at
that point, however, the important thing is that the new US
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 [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] 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 US 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."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
