RTE.ie , Ireland
March 5 2010
Turkey seeks better relations with Armenia
Friday, 5 March 2010 11:07
Turkey will push on with efforts to normalise ties with Armenia
despite a US congressional panel vote terming a 1915 mass killing of
Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide.
‘We are determined to press ahead with normalisation of relations with
Armenia,’ Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
However, he said parliamentary ratification of peace accords with
Armenia were at risk. Turkey and Armenia last year signed an historic
deal to open their border.
The deal, seen as crucial to obtaining long term peace in the south
Caucasus region, has to be ratified by parliaments in Ankara and
Yerevan.
The US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday
approved the non-binding resolution, prompting Turkey to recall its
ambassador from Washington.
US President Barack Obama’s administration, concerned the resolution
would hurt US-Turkish ties, had made a last-minute appeal against the
measure.
Turkey reacted angrily to the panel’s resolution, although it was
unclear whether the bill will be considered by the full House at all.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan warned yesterday of possible damage to
Turkey-US ties, which could undermine Mr Obama’s stated goal of
building a ‘strategic partnership’ with Turkey.
US-Turkish ties were already being tested as Washington seeks to
convince Ankara to back sanctions against Iran.
Asked if Turkey was considering retaliatory steps against the US or US
policy in areas such as Afghanistan, Mr Davutoglu said: ‘This is a
matter of national pride for us.
‘We will speak with our president and our prime minister but it is too
early to talk about specific measures.’
Turkey accepts that many Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks but
denies that up to 1.5m died and that it amounted to genocide.