JAMES JEFFREY: US SUPPORTS TURKEY-ARMENIA RAPPROCHEMENT

Armradio.am
17.02.2010 15:03

U.S. Ambassador to Ankara James Jeffrey warned Turkish deputies on
Tuesday that the Armenian Genocide bill would likely pass through
the U.S. Congress in March unless the Turkish Parliament ratifies
the normalization protocols, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Members of the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Commission
expressed their concern to Jeffrey, who earlier confirmed his full
support to the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia.

The commission said it was concerned that a pending resolution in the
U.S. House of Representatives recognizing the 1915 events as genocide
would destroy ongoing normalization talks.

Asked before the meeting if the bill would harm the ongoing process
between Yerevan and Ankara, Jeffrey replied: "We give full support
for the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia. As President
Barack Obama noted in his speech at the Turkish Parliament, the best
way is to continue this process. That’s why we send this message to
both countries."

Following the hour-and-a-half-long meeting, Murat Mercan, chairman
of the commission, said, "We will do what is best for our country
regardless of the outside effects."

"The approval of the bill will harm Turkish-U.S. relations. There is
disagreement on this issue between the deputies of the ruling and
opposition parties," said Oymen said, a deputy from the opposition
Republican People’s Party

"I will convey the message given by the parliamentarians," Jeffrey
said.