U.S. WOULD WELCOME RETURN OF AMBASSADOR

PanARMENIAN.Net
02.04.2010 11:55 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The United States would welcome the return of
the ambassador, but that is ultimately a decision for Turkey, a
U.S. official said.

"We have had a number of conversations with officials in Turkey. We
have encouraged them to return the ambassador to Washington. We
think it’s very important to have him here. But that is a decision
for Turkey," Mr. Philip Crowley, Assistant Secretary of State for
the Bureau of Public Affairs, said during a daily press briefing in
Washington, D.C.

Asked to comment on the ongoing Armenia-Turkey dialogue, he said,
"We continue to talk to Turkey about the steps that both Turkey and
Armenia need to take in terms of normalization, fulfilling their
mutual responsibilities under the protocols signed last year, and
we continue to encourage them to take those important steps. But we
were talking about all of these issues with the Secretary of State
and the Foreign Minister."

Turkish ambassador to Washington Namik Tan was recalled immediately
after the adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution, H.Res.252,
by the U.S. House panel on March 4, 2010.