MEETING IN THE WHITE HOUSE ERDOGAN AGAIN TIES THE KARABAKH ISSUE TO ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS
Armen Dilanyan

"Radiolur"
08.12.2009 11:46
Glendale

On Monday the White House hosted a meeting between US President Barack
Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

President Obama told a briefing following the meeting that during the
course of the discussions the parties had the opportunity to survey
a wide range of issues that both the United States and Turkey are
concerned about.

"I thanked Prime Minister Erdogan and the Turkish people for their
outstanding contributions to stabilizing Afghanistan. We discussed
our joint role in helping Iraq achieve the kind of independence and
prosperity that I think has been advanced as a consequence of the
election law finally being passed over the weekend," Obama said.

The interlocutors discussed issues of regional peace, and President
Obama indicated to the Prime Minister how important it is to resolve
the issue of Iran’s nuclear capacity in a way that allows Iran to
pursue peaceful nuclear energy but provides assurances that it will
abide by international rules and norms, and said he believes Turkey
can be an important player in trying to move Iran in that direction.

They discussed the continuing role that they can play as NATO allies
in strengthening Turkey’s profile within NATO and coordinating more
effectively on critical issues like missile defense.

President Obama congratulated the Prime Minister on some courageous
steps taken around the issue of normalizing Turkish-Armenian relations,
and encouraged him to continue to move forward along this path.

According to The Turkish Prime Minister, they discussed relations
between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which is of great importance. "This
is important in the context of Turkish-Armenian relations. We
have discussed the Minsk Group and what the Minsk Group can do –
the United States, Russia, and France – to add more impetus to that
process. I can say that the Minsk process is going to have a very
positive impact on the overall process, because the normalization
process between Turkey and Armenia is very much related to these
issues. As the administration in Turkey, we are determined to move
forward in this area," Erdogan said.

The statements about the Armenian-Turkish relations were restricted
to this. However, Elizabeth S. Chouldjian, Communications Director
of the Armenian National Committee of Armenia (ANCA), told "Radiolur"
what was happening in the White House following the meeting.

"Prime Minister Erdogan clearly denied the Armenian Genocide, saying
the Turkish national could not have committed genocide. As for the
Karabakh issue, Erdogn once again tied it to the Armenian-Turkish
protocols. It’s clear that he would use this opportunity to exert
pressure and push forwards their views of the Karabakh issue,"
she said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress