Xinhua, China
March 4 2010

Turkey warns against risks to Caucasus stability as U.S. votes
Armenian resolution

ANKARA March 4

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday warned against
moves that could endanger the normalization process between Turkey and
Armenia as a U.S. congressional panel pressed ahead with a vote on a
resolution regarding controversial deaths of Armenians under Ottoman
rule.

"We must refrain from all acts that may pose a risk to stability and
peace in the Caucasus," Davutoglu told a joint press conference with
his New Zealander counterpart Murray McCully in Ankara, the
semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

The minister’s remarks came before the U.S. House of Representatives
Foreign Affairs Committee voted on a resolution on Thursday that would
recognize the deaths of Armenians during the World War I as a
genocide.

Turkey denies as many as 1.5 million Armenians died and insists the
Armenians were victims of widespread chaos and governmental breakdown
as the Ottoman Empire collapsed before modern Turkey was born in 1923.

The Turkish government has urged the U.S. panel not to pass the
resolution on Armenians’ deaths, saying its adoption would hurt
Turkish-U.S. relations and the ongoing normalization process between
Turkey and Armenia.

"Turkish-U.S. relations are probably in a stage where cooperation is
needed more than ever before," Davutoglu was quoted of telling
reporters Thursday.

Close ties between Turkey and the United States could have a positive
impact on the situation in the Balkans, Middle East and Caucasus as
well as issues at the United Nations, he said.

The U.S. White House has urged the House panel not to adopt the
resolution, which it said could impede progress on the normalization
of relations between Turkey and Armenia, U.S. media reported.

Davutoglu called on all parties involved to "take into serious
consideration the Turkish-U.S relations and their influence on global
peace."

Turkey and Armenia have been bogged down in the row over the deaths of
Armenians and have no diplomatic or economic ties since Armenia
declared its independence in 1991. Also, Turkey closed its border with
Armenia in 1993 to support Azerbaijan, which had a territorial
conflict with Armenia over the Upper Karabakh region.

The two countries signed last October historic deals on normalizing
ties and reopening their borders after decades of hostilities. The
agreements need to be ratified by both countries’ parliaments before
taking effect.