TURKEY SUMMONS US ENVOY ON GENOCIDE VOTE
By Delphine Strauss
FT
March 5 2010 13:19
The US ambassador to Turkey was summoned to the foreign ministry on
Friday after a congressional panel approved describing the Ottoman-era
massacres of Armenians as genocide.
The non-binding resolution, passed in the foreign affairs committee on
Thursday by 23 votes to 22, will test US-Turkish relations at a time
when Washington is already at odds with Ankara – a Nato member and
crucial ally in the region – over its drive for sanctions against Iran.
EDITOR’S CHOICE Turkey recalls ambassador over US vote – Mar-05Vote
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– Feb-24US foreign policy has not made breakthroughs – Feb-07The
Turkish government, which has long warned that such a vote would harm
bilateral relations, has recalled its ambassador from Washington for
consultations, complaining that a last-minute plea by Hillary Clinton,
secretary of state, to stop the resolution was not forceful enough.
"We expect a more effective policy from the administration," Ahmet
Davutoglu, foreign minister, said on Friday, adding that Washington
had displayed "a lack of strategic vision".
He also said the vote could harm ongoing Turkish and Armenian efforts
at reconciliation, as Turkey "never took decisions under pressure".
The Turkish cabinet is set to assess the situation on Monday after
consultations with Namik Tan, the ambassador who will fly back from
Washington on Friday, Mr Davutoglu said.
Similar resolutions have passed a committee vote before without
ever being put to a full vote on the floor of Congress, and the US
administration is signalling the pattern may be repeated.
"We understand that there will be no decision in full Congress. We
are against any new Congress decision," Jim Jeffrey, US ambassador,
told reporters as he left the ministry in Ankara on Friday.
"I do not think it is for any other country to determine how two
countries resolve matters between them," Mrs Clinton said during a
Latin American tour on Thursday. "We do not believe that any action
by the Congress is appropriate and we oppose it." She added that
the administration did not believe the full House "will or should"
vote on the resolution.
However, Turkey’s tough reaction reflects the difficulty it already
faces in salvaging an agreement with Armenia, signed last year after
mediation by Mrs Clinton, setting a timetable to restore diplomatic
ties and open their shared border.
There is fierce public opposition to the agreement in both countries,
and Ankara is refusing to ratify the protocols without progress in
the separate and intractable dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan
over Armenian occupation of the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabagh.
"Turkey will not be responsible for the negative results that may
stem from this vote in every area," Abdullah Gul, president, said in
a statement. Mr Davutoglu said it was too early to talk about specific
measures in retaliation against the vote.
Turkey denies the 1915 killings of some 1.5m Armenians constituted
genocide, saying many Turks also died in the chaos that engulfed the
disintegrating Ottoman empire, and that the interpretation of events
should be left to an international committee of historians.
Both the genocide debate and Nagorno-Karabakh stir nationalist
sensitivities in Turkey, where anti-US feeling runs high.
Analysts think the chances of the resolution reaching a vote on the
floor of Congress are still weak. Atilla Yesilada, of the consultancy
Global Source, warned that if it did proceed, the ruling Ak Party
"simply can’t look weak in the face of such a great insult", as it
risked losing votes to nationalists before a possible referendum and
elections due in 2011.
The Armenian National Committee of America hailed the vote but said
the real test was a full House vote.