Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 5 2010

ErdoÄ?an says US-Turkey ties at risk, recalls envoy

NATO member Turkey recalled its ambassador to the United States for
consultations after a vote in a US congressional committee on Thursday
branded the World War I incidents as genocide.

In a statement, Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip ErdoÄ?an also said he
was seriously concerned that the non-binding resolution would harm
Turkish-US ties and efforts by Muslim Turkey and Christian Armenia to
bury a century of hostility.

Washington regards Turkey, a Muslim but secular democracy which
aspires to join the European Union, as an ally whose help it needs to
solve conflicts from Iran to Afghanistan to the Middle East.

WHAT WILL TURKEY DO NEXT?

* In 2007, Ankara recalled its ambassador after a US panel approved a
similar bill. Turkey reacted angrily, suggesting trade, defence and
other ties might be affected. Then-president George W. Bush warned
against passage, and the measure never came to a vote on the House
floor. The ambassador returned to his post after one week.

* Ankara had launched a diplomatic offensive to block the bill.
Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu told reporters in Ankara hours before
the vote: "We are at a stage when US-Turkish ties need maximum
cooperation. Everybody should consider the importance of US-Turkish
relations for regional and global stability."

WILL IT AFFECT AFGHANISTAN, THE MIDDLE EAST OR IRAN?

* ErdoÄ?an said the bill might harm Turkey-US ties, but did not give
any details. President Abdullah Gül said Turkey should not be held
responsible for any negative consequences, but did not elaborate.

* Commentators had said the bill could affect Washington’s use of the
Incirlik Air base in southeast Turkey. Incirlik is vital in logistical
support for US troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Turkey is a
transit route for US troops going to and from Iraq, and has 1,700
non-combat troops in Afghanistan.

* Ankara has played a key role in Obama’s strategy to get Afghanistan
and Pakistan to work together in fighting al Qaeda and Taliban
militants in their borders. Turkey has hosted high-level talks between
Pakistan and Afghanistan.

* Turkey, which has boosted ties with its Muslim neighbours, is a
major player in US-backed Arab-Israeli peacemaking and has mediated in
indirect talks between Syria and the Israelis.

* Ankara has offered to use its close ties with Iran to help solve a
dispute between global powers and Tehran over its nuclear programme.
The United States, France and other Western powers are preparing a
plan for a fourth round of U.N. sanctions against Iran over its
nuclear programme. The bill could further alienate Turkey, which sits
on the 15-member Security Council and has indicated it will not
support more sanctions.

ARMENIA

* ErdoÄ?an said the bill would derail efforts to normalise ties with
long-time foe Armenia. Ankara and Yerevan late last year signed an
historic deal to reopen their border. The chairman of the Turkish
parliament’s foreign affairs committee had said the resolution could
jeopardise Turkish parliamentary approval of the protocols.

* Muslim Turkey accepts that there were killings but in both sides and
says that those killings stemmed from civil war during the atmosphere
of the catastrophic World War I era.

TRADE AND MILITARY CONTRACTS

* Turkish media have suggested the bill may hurt bilateral trade and
deny US firms lucrative defence contracts. Vatan newspaper said on
Thursday that Ankara had threatened to cancel defence contracts
totalling $45 billion. US-Turkish trade volume was $16.2 billion in
2008.

* The chief executives of Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing Co, Raytheon
Co, United Technologies Corp and Northrop Grumman Corp this week
issued a rare joint letter, warning passage of the bill could lead to
"a rupture in US-Turkey relations" and put American jobs at risk.

ANTI-AMERICANISM

* The issue of the Armenian massacres is deeply sensitive in Turkey
and Turks, including Nobel Literature Laureate Orhan Pamuk, have been
prosecuted in the European Union candidate country for referring to
the killings as genocide. Most Turks view such bills as an insults to
their national honour. There has been a wave of anti-Americanism in
Turkey, particularly following the 2003 US invasion of Iraq and many
tensions linger. The bill could fan more anti-Americanism.

05 March 2010, Friday
REUTERS WITH TODAY’S ZAMAN ANKARA