Reuters, UK
March 6 2010

Turkish PM says U.S. vote to "greatly harm" ties

Sat Mar 6, 2010 8:34am EST

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A U.S. resolution that branded as genocide the
killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War One will
seriously damage U.S.-Turkish relations, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan
said on Saturday.

NATO member Turkey, an ally crucial to U.S. interests in Iraq, Iran,
Afghanistan and the Middle East, has expressed its outrage at
Thursday’s non-binding vote in the Foreign Affairs committee of the
U.S. House of Representatives and recalled its envoy to the United
States for consultations.

"The decision of the Foreign Affairs Committee will not hurt Turkey,
but it will greatly harm bilateral relations, interests and vision.
Turkey will not be the one who loses," said Erdogan, speaking at a
summit of Turkish businessmen.

The Obama administration made a last-minute appeal against the
resolution and has vowed to stop the vote, which was broadcast live on
Turkish television, from going further in Congress.

Turkey has said the resolution could jeopardize a fragile drive by
Turkey and Armenia to end a century of hostilities and lead to further
instability in the south Caucasus, a region crisscrossed by oil and
gas pipelines to Europe.

Turkey’s ambassador to the United States told journalists upon his
return on Saturday it was unclear when he would head back to
Washington following his talks with the president, prime minister and
foreign minister.

"I will return when the time is right … We will have to wait and
see," Namik Tan said. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted in a
media report as saying that the consultations could last "a long
time."

The resolution urges Obama to use the term "genocide" when he delivers
his annual message on the Armenian massacres in April.

Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians were killed by Ottoman
Turks but denies that up to 1.5 million died and that it amounted to
genocide — a term employed by many Western historians and some
foreign parliaments.
Some analysts fear the vote may alienate Turkey at a time when there
are concerns that its warmer ties with Syria, Iran and Russia, could
herald a shift away from its traditional Western allies.

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 U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Turkey is a transit route for U.S. troops going to and from Iraq, and
the country has 1,700 non-combat troops in Afghanistan.

Ankara has also 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 and has hosted high-level talks
between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

(Reporting by Thomas Grove; Editing by Noah Barkin)