Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
Oct 13 2007
Turkish Foreign Ministry, US officials hold talks on Armenian bill
Ankara, 13 October: US Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried and US
Undersecretary of Defence Eric Edelman held talks at the Turkish
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Ankara on Saturday [13 October]
.
Following their meeting with MFA Undersecretary Ertugrul Apakan and
the other officials, Edelman said that they came to Ankara to express
their regret over the House vote on the resolution (regarding
Armenian allegations on the incidents of 1915) and to display their
administration’s determination to oppose the bill at the Congress.
Noting that they held constructive talks with Turkish officials,
Edelman said that the Turkish party expressed its disappointment with
the approval of the resolution.
Meanwhile, Fried said that the resolution could harm efforts to
improve the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Asked about his opinion on Turkey’s likely reaction in case of
passage of the resolution by the full House, Edelman said that it is
evident that Turkey will display its reaction in some way.
He stressed that the parties should concentrate on their long-term
and common interests. Edelman highlighted importance of the
determination of the US administration to prevent passage of the
resolution.
Upon a question about a likely cross-border operation into north of
Iraq, Edelman said that Turkish officials expressed their concerns
over recent developments in the southeastern city of Sirnak and
terrorism, and added that the United States shared those concerns.
Edelman said that they will convey Turkey’s unease to the relevant
parties, adding they will especially inform Iraqi authorities that
Turkey’s patience is about to come to an end.
He said that they might return to Turkey for more discussions after
the weekend.