US SENATE CONFIRMS JEFFREY AS NEW AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY
Today’s Zaman
04 October 2008, Saturday
Turkey
News Diplomacy
James Jeffrey speaks at a confirmation hearing at the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee in late September.
The US Senate has confirmed career diplomat James Jeffrey as the new
ambassador to Turkey, replacing the incumbent Ross Wilson.
"I am pleased that the Senate confirmed Jim Jeffrey to be the United
States Ambassador to Turkey. Jim is a man of intellect, integrity,
and commitment. His work as my Deputy National Security Advisor, as
United States Ambassador to Albania, and in three previous assignments
to Turkey make him superbly qualified to represent the United States
to our friend and NATO ally," President George W. Bush said in a
statement issued on Thursday.
Jeffrey, currently Bush’s deputy national security advisor, was
pressured by some members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
during his confirmation process last week to describe World War I
events in eastern Anatolia as a genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman
Empire. He declined to describe the events as genocide in the face of
questions from Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez during the confirmation
hearing and added that he would support initiatives encouraging
Turkish-Armenian rapprochement. He also said that Washington favors
the unconditional opening of borders with Armenia by Turkey as well
as the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
When Jeffrey used the term "forced exile" while speaking of the 1915
incidents, Menendez said that he was disappointed that this term fell
short of the term "ethnic cleansing," which was earlier used by some
US officials. In response, Jeffrey said that he was behind statements
by officials which outline US policy, but still refrained from using
the term "ethnic cleansing."
Armenia claims that Ottoman Turks killed up to 1.5 million Armenians
during World War I, toward the end of the Ottoman Empire, and labels
the killings as genocide. Turkey says the casualty figures are inflated
and that the deaths occurred during a time of civil conflict when
both Armenians and Turks were killed.
In a landmark step, President Abdullah Gul visited Armenia to watch a
World Cup qualifying game between national teams of the two countries
in early September. The foreign ministers of Turkey, Armenia and
Azerbaijan also met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in
New York late last month.
Jeffrey, first nominated as ambassador to Turkey in June, is expected
to take over his new post from Wilson in the coming weeks. He is
known to be an expert on Turkey and can also speak Turkish. Jeffrey
served as US ambassador to Albania from 2002-2004. He was the chargé
d’affaires at the US Embassy in Baghdad from 2004-2005.
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From: Baghdasarian