TUSIAD CALLS OFF US VISIT, SAYS IT WOULD BE ‘UNFRUITFUL’
Today’s Zaman
March 15 2010
Turkey
The Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) has
called off a trip to the US scheduled for March 16-17, arguing that
it would be tainted by current tension between Ankara and Washington.
A US congressional committee voted on March 4 to label the killings
of Anatolian Armenians during World War I as genocide, straining
relations between Turkey and the US. Following this, Foreign Trade
Minister Zafer Caglayan announced he had postponed a planned trip to
the US that was to take place later that week.
The association said on Saturday that their visit to the US had been
"delayed indefinitely." TUSIAD Washington representative Abdullah
Akyuz said in a written statement that they had decided to call off
the trip since "the possibility of yielding a favorable result from
the visit is now weaker than it used to be."
"As is known, TUSIAD places great importance on maintaining healthy
relations between Turkey and the US. We think the current tension
between the two countries should no longer continue and are committed
to contributing to efforts to reinstate a healthy atmosphere for
dialogue," the statement read. The association said TUSIAD maintains
the hope that the delayed trip will take place once relations return
to normal.