TURKEY ‘NOT TO BOW TO PRESSURE’

news.az
March 9 2010
Azerbaijan

Ahmet Davutoglu Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on on Monday
that Turkey would not bow down to pressure over relations with Armenia.

He was speaking after a US House panel adopted a resolution describing
as ‘genocide’ the tragic events of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire.

‘We will maintain our peaceful perspective but we will not let
anyone put pressure on Turkey over issues on which we can give no
concessions. We hope our counterparts on this issue have received the
message,’ Davutoglu told reporters at a joint press conference with
his Mauritanian counterpart, Naha Mint Mouknass, in the capital Ankara.

The US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday
adopted the resolution with 23 votes for 22 against, raising concerns
that approval in the House might hurt rapprochement between Ankara
and Yerevan, which recently signed protocols to open their border
and resume diplomatic relations.

Turkey recalled its US ambassador, Namik Tan, to Ankara for
consultations shortly after the House panel vote.

Davutoglu said he had met Tan and that their consultations would
continue for some time.