TURKISH PM SAYS GOING TO U.S., SENDING BACK ENVOY
Pinar Aydinli

Reuters
April 2 2010
UK

Wed, Mar 17 2010ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey said on Friday that it
was sending its ambassador back to Washington, a month after he was
recalled to protest against a U.S. congressional committee labeling
as genocide the World War One massacres of Armenians in Turkey.

Barack Obama | Turkey

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan also confirmed that he would attend an
international nuclear summit to be hosted by President Barack Obama
in Washington on April 12-13.

"I received an invitation five, six months ago, to attend an
international event that other countries will also be attending and
serves a good cause, to prevent the use and spreading of nuclear
weapons. I will be going to the United States," Erdogan told
journalists.

"My ambassador Namik Tan will go back to Washington before my visit,"
the prime minister added.

The U.S. House of Representatives committee approved a non-binding
resolution on March 4 calling on Obama to refer to the killings of
as many as 1.5 million Armenian Christians as genocide, prompting
Turkey to immediately withdraw its envoy.

The State Department welcomed Erdogan’s decision to return the
ambassador.

"Turkey and the United States have a significant strategic
relationship. There’s lots of work that we can jointly accomplish,
and that work becomes more effective when we have an able interlocutor
here in Washington," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told a
briefing in Washington.

CHAOS OF WAR

Turkey argues that both Turks and Armenians were killed during the
chaos of war and break-up of the Ottoman Empire almost a century ago,
though nearly 20 countries have said the killings were genocide.

The United States is keen to smooth over relations with Turkey, NATO’s
only Muslim member, and a key ally in trouble spots from Afghanistan
to the Middle East.

In a telephone call with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu last Sunday,
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton assured Turkey that the White
House opposed the congressional resolution.

It is uncertain whether the resolution will go to a vote of the full
House, or whether it could pass. The congressional committee only
passed the resolution by a single vote.

Washington is seeking to persuade Turkey, a non-permanent member
of the Security Council, to support a fourth round of U.N. economic
sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, while Erdogan has
spoken against the use of sanctions.

He doubts the effectiveness of sanctions, and is worried that Turkey’s
trade with its neighbor would inevitably suffer. Iran supplies Turkey
with a third of its gas needs.

Despite good relations with Tehran, Erdogan’s own attempts to persuade
the Iranian leadership to make moves needed to allay international
concerns over its nuclear program have led to nothing. But he says
diplomatic efforts should be intensified instead of imposing sanctions.

(Additional reporting by Andrew Quinn in Washington; writing by Simon
Cameron-Moore; editing by Mohammad Zargham)