, Turkey
April 11 2010

Erdogan sees Turkish-US ties eased after Armenia row

The Turkish prime minister said on Sunday that he had seen that
Turkish-U.S. relations had eased.
Sunday, 11 April 2010 17:35

The Turkish prime minister said on Sunday that he had seen that
Turkish-U.S. relations had eased.

Turkey’s Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkish-U.S. relations had
become less rigid, thanks to talks between executives after the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives
adopted a resolution acknowledging the Armenian allegations on the
incidents of 1915.

"Our relations are milder now after the U.S. Secretary of State called
our Foreign Minister, and we have sent back our ambassador to
Washington D.C.," he told a press conference before flying to the
United States.

Erdogan will participate in the two-day summit to be hosted by U.S.
President Barack Obama. Almost 50 heads of state and government are
expected to attend the summit.

"Such resolutions do not bind us and Turkey’s views are obvious," he said.

Erdogan said Turkey was still backing its views expressed in a letter
sent to former Armenian President Robert Kocharian in 2005.

Turkey thought such issues could not be solved by parliaments, but
they should be handled by historical committees, Erdogan also said.

Turkey had recalled its ambassador to the United States Namik Tan
after the Foreign Relations Committee of the United States House of
Representatives adopted a resolution on March 4 that supported
Armenian allegations regarding the incidents of 1915.

Tan returned to Washington D.C. on April 6.

Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols on October 10, 2009 to resume
diplomatic relations and open their border crossing.

After years of no diplomatic contacts, Turkish President Abdullah Gul
travelled to Yerevan to watch a soccer game between Turkish and
Armenian national teams in September 2008.

The Armenian president came to Turkey to watch the return game in 2009.

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