TURK ENVOY NOT BACK IN U.S. UNTIL ARMENIA SIGNAL: PM

Washington Post
March 9 2010

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey said on Tuesday it will not send its
ambassador back to Washington until it gets a "clear sign" on the fate
of a U.S. resolution branding the 1915-era killings of Armenians by
Turkish forces as "genocide."

NATO member Turkey, a pivotal U.S. ally, was infuriated and recalled
its envoy after a U.S. House panel last week approved the non-binding
measure condemning the killings.

"We will not send our ambassador back unless we get a clear sign on
the outcome of the situation regarding the Armenian bill," Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying by state-news agency
Anatolian. He did not elaborate.

Erdogan has said the resolution will damage U.S.-Turkish ties,
although the Obama administration has vowed to stop it from going
further in Congress, fearing damage to ties with Turkey.

Turkey, a secular Muslim democracy that has applied for membership
of the European Union, is crucial to U.S. interests in Iraq, Iran,
Afghanistan and the Middle East.

The issue of the Armenian massacres is deeply sensitive in Turkey.

Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians were killed by Ottoman
Turks but vehemently 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.

The opposition nationalist MHP Party has called on parliament to take
steps against Washington’s use of the Incirlik air base on Turkey’s
Mediterranean coast.

Incirlik plays a key role in logistical support for U.S. troops
serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Turkey has also 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.

(Writing by Ibon Villelabeitia; Editing by Charles Dick)

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress