Anadolu Agency, Turkey
March 12 2010

Turkey not to accept any "insult" regarding Armenian issue – foreign minister

Dublin, 12 March: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on
Thursday, "we must have a very active diplomacy everywhere so Turkey
can contribute to regional and global peace."

Before completing his two-day formal visit to Ireland, Davutoglu spoke
to Irish Times newspaper, and said, "Turkey’s traditional strategic
relations like the EU and NATO are the backbone of Turkish foreign
policy; with that backbone we must have a very active diplomacy
everywhere so Turkey can contribute to regional and global peace."

"Our integration into the EU is a strategic, historical choice of the
Turkish nation, and it will continue. Our active involvement in other
regions is an asset to our relations with the EU, rather than an
alternative to the EU," he said.

Noting that no other candidate country had faced political problems
Turkey had faced, Davutoglu said, "Turkish people are really
disappointed. There was huge enthusiasm for Turkish EU integration. In
spite of all these difficulties, the government has full determination
to continue."

Regarding the approval of the resolution on 1915 incidents at the US
House of Representatives Committee of Foreign Affairs, Davutoglu said,
"we were expecting a much more influential intervention by the White
House."

"Of course, the US is our strategic ally, but we cannot accept any
insult to our nation through such a process, which is not serious but
just addressing the local political context of certain members of
congress," he stressed.

Regarding regional problems, Davutoglu said that Ankara was working
very hard to solve the problems.