TURKISH ENVOY TO RETURN TO US AFTER ‘GENOCIDE’ ROW

Global Times
April 2 2010
China

Turkey’s ambassador to the United States is set to return to his
post after being recalled fol-lowing a US House panel vote branding
the World War I massacres of Armenians as genocide, a diplomat said
Thursday.

"A decision has been made in principle for his return," the Turkish
diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Ankara recalled Ambassador Namik Tan on March 4 after the House
of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee adopted a resolution
branding the 1915-17 massacres of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire
as genocide.

The envoy is expected to return to Washington before April 12, when
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will "very probably" go to the
US capital for a nuclear security summit, the diplomat said.

Erdogan said later he would announce Friday whether he would attend
the summit.

"If I decide to go, I will send the ambassador back immediately,"
he said.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu spoke of "positive developments" in
ties between the two NATO allies, highlighting a telephone conversation
with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday.

"There have been positive developments in the context of the reasons
that required the return of our ambassador since the latest telephone
call," Davutoglu told reporters.

"There have been increasing messages easing our concerns and meeting
our expectations … and (showing) that the strategic dimension of
Turkish-US relations is being understood," he said.

Clinton had stressed that Washington "places importance" on Erdogan
attending the nuclear security summit, he added.

Davutoglu told Clinton that Washington should stop the bill from
advancing to a vote at the full House.

Blocking the resolution, he said, will be "of critical importance
to eliminate the negative impact it has had" on Turkish-US ties and
fledgling peace efforts with Armenia.

The non-binding resolution calls on President Barack Obama to ensure
that US foreign policy reflects an understanding of the "genocide"
and to label the killings of Armenians as such in his annual statement
on the issue.

Clinton has urged the committee not to hold the vote for fear it
might harm ties with a prominent Muslim ally and Turkish-Armenian
reconciliation.

She said after its approval that "we do not believe the full Congress
will or should act on that resolution."

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin perished in orchestrated
killings and deportations under the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

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