Hürriyet , Turkey
March 11 2009

FM Armenia-bound on eve of key date

ANKARA – Foreign Minister Ali Babacan has accepted an invitation from
his Armenian counterpart to attend a regional summit in Yerevan. The
move has been interpreted as a further step by Ankara to avoid a
U.S. presidential proclamation of the alleged genocide of Armenians
this April 24, daily Hürriyet reported yesterday.

Babacan will participate in the foreign ministerial meeting of the
Black Sea Economic Cooperation set for April 16 and 17 at the
invitation of Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian. The move is
expected to give Ankara an upper hand before a critical visit by
President Barack Obama, who is expected in Turkey next month. But
Turkish diplomats speaking to the Daily News said nothing yet was
certain, but that the Foreign Ministry was also contemplating possible
consequences of Babacan not visiting Yerevan before April 24.

In a televised interview at the weekend, Babacan said he was invited
to Yerevan for the summit, adding that he had not yet decided because
there were other programs that overlapped with next month’s meeting.

The Armenian question was on the agenda during U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton’s trip to Turkey last Saturday, although diplomatic
sources in Ankara said it was off the table. A joint statement
released after the Babacan-Clinton meeting highlighted efforts to
normalize Turkish-Armenian relations.

Babacan still sees risk

Babacan said the new U.S. administration appreciated Turkey’s opinions
and sensitivities regarding the alleged 1915 killings but said there
was still a "risk" over the U.S. stance on the issue. Obama said on
several occasions during his election campaign that he would recognize
the 1915 incidents as "genocide."

"I can easily say that the current U.S. administration perceives
Turkey’s opinion and sensitivity on this matter. We have no
difficulties with communication in that sense," Babacan said, adding
that the issue could be solved without overshadowing relations between
Turkey and the United States.

The Black Sea Economic Cooperation was founded in 1992 in order to
promote stronger economic cooperation among Black Sea countries and
promote peace and stability. BSEC member states are Bulgaria, Georgia,
Romania, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Greece, Moldova and Serbia. Armenia assumed the rotating presidency of
BSEC on November.