TURKEY’S AMBASSADOR RETURNING, BUT TALKS OVER HOUSE GENOCIDE RESOLUTION NOT OVER
By Bridget Johnson

The Hill
April 5 2010
DC

Turkey’s ambassador is due back in Washington this week after being
recalled in a spat over the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s approval
of the Armenian genocide resolution on March 4.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the contentious
resolution, which would recognize the killing of 1.5 million Armenians
by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as genocide, in an extremely close
23-22 vote. Turkey immediately recalled its ambassador, Namık Tan,
back to Ankara for consultations.

That touched off a verbal offensive from Ankara, too, with Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying that the genocide resolution
passed could harm bilateral relations and snapping that the lawmakers
on the committee couldn’t likely find Armenia.

Erdogan sounded a much different tone on Friday, though, saying not
only that the ambassador would return but that Erdogan would attend
President Barack Obama’s nuclear summit on April 12-13.

Turkey is part of a NATO nuclear-weapons sharing pact with the
United States, and has also been seen as a potential intermediary to
help bring Iran and its budding nuclear program into international
compliance.

"I received an invitation five, six months ago to attend an
international event that other countries will also be attending and
that serves a good cause, to prevent the use and spreading of nuclear
weapons," Erdogan said Friday, stressing "positive developments"
with Washington since the resolution passed committee, according to
Hurriyet Daily News. "I will be going to the United States."

Erdogan made clear that he would bring up his displeasure over the
genocide resolution on the sidelines of the nuclear summit.

"The nuclear issue is not the only topic on the agenda. There are
many other issues to discuss," he said. "[Talks in Washington] are
important chance and we will make use of this opportunity. We have
taken all the required steps up to now."

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