AMBASSADOR TAN RETURNS TO US AFTER ‘GENOCIDE’ ROW
Today’s Zaman
April 7 2010
Turkey
Turkey’s ambassador to the United States returned to Washington
on Tuesday, a month after being recalled to Ankara in protest of a
congressional committee vote to endorse Armenian claims of genocide
at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire a century ago.
Speaking to reporters at Ankara’s Esenboga Airport before taking a
flight to Washington, Ambassador Namık Tan said the government’s
decision to recall him was a political message, which he said was
received by the US administration. Ankara in turn has received
satisfactory responses from the US, paving the way for his return
to Washington, Tan went on to say. "We have received the responses
that satisfied us. It is time for me to return to my post," he told
reporters.
Turkey decided to send back its ambassador to Washington last week
after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had a one-hour talk with
her Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, on the phone. Tan’s return
to Washington came a week before a key nuclear summit in Washington,
which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also attend. "I will
meet the prime minister in Washington at the weekend," Tan said. He
hopes the positive atmosphere in Turkish-US ties will continue after
the nuclear summit.
Observers say Tan’s return is also aimed at lobbying in Washington
before April 24, when President Barack Obama will issue an annual
message to commemorate the Armenians who perished in eastern Anatolia.
He refrained from using the word "genocide" in his message last year,
but it is unclear whether he will do the same this year.