US INSISTENT ON ERDOGAN’S VISIT TO WASHINGTON

Hurriyet
March 29 2010
Turkey

The U.S. administration expects Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan to participate in an international security summit in
Washington set for next month.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Turkish Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu and underlined that Erdogan’s participation is expected
in the International Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Washington
on April 12 and 13 and that his attendance carries great importance
in every respect, Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin said in
a written statement released Monday.

"Davutoglu stated that the evaluation process on this subject was
still continuing and that Prime Minister Erdogan would make his final
decision on this matter in the coming days," Ozugergin added.

The main agenda of the telephone conversation, which took place
upon the request of the U.S. side, according to the spokesman, was
the Armenian "genocide" resolution that passed a U.S. congressional
committee early this month.

Turkish officials said after the telephone conversation that there
was a 50 percent chance that Erdogan would travel to the U.S., adding
that Ankara awaits strong signals from the United States regarding
the Armenian resolution and assurance from Washington about the
Turkish-Armenian protocols following the ruling of the Armenian
top court.

Officials said if Erdogan decides to go to Washington and is
accompanied by his foreign minister, there could be a meeting with
the Armenian diaspora.

Davutoglu explained the reasons for the deep disappointment and strong
reaction by Turkish public opinion to the adoption of the resolution
and underlined that it is critically important that the measure not
go any further, said the spokesman.

Clinton stated that she understood Davutoglu’s concerns, and stressed
that the U.S. administration is opposed both to the House Foreign
Affair Committee’s decision and to further action on the "genocide"
bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to the ministry.

Clinton and Davutoglu also reportedly discussed the revival of
Syria-Israel peace talks, developments on Palestine and the results
of the Iraqi elections, as well as other regional issues.