PM SET TO MAKE DECISION ON US VISIT

Hurriyet
March 31 2010
Turkey

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would announce a decision
most probably Friday on whether or not to make a trip to the United
States.

"I assume I will announce my decision on this issue tomorrow [Friday].

If I decide to go, I’ll dispatch our ambassador," Erdogan told
reporters during an inauguration ceremony Thursday.

In a move to reduce the ongoing tension with the United States
stemming from the passage of an Armenian genocide resolution in a House
committee, Turkey is likely to re-send its ambassador to Washington
ahead of an international nuclear summit on April 12.

Asked if Ambassador Namık Tan will return to Washington, Erdogan said:
"I am making an assessment with my colleagues."

In Ankara, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said there were strong
signals from the United States that would ease Turkey’s concerns in
the wake of the genocide resolution vote. Diplomats say the telephone
conversation between Davutoglu and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton played a key role in Erdogan’s possible visit to Washington.

The ties between the two allies were strained by the adoption of the
resolution at the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs on March 4.

Blaming the U.S. administration for not doing enough to stop the
approval of the measure, Turkey recalled its ambassador in protest.

If Erdogan decides to go to Washington, he is expected to be
accompanied by Davutoglu. The foreign minister did not rule out
a meeting with the Armenian diaspora in Washington. On Thursday,
Davutoglu met with three members of the U.S. Congress led by
Ed Whitfield, co-chair of the Turkey caucus in the House of
Representatives.