Ties with US at risk if ‘genocide’ resolution moves forward

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, speaking at a press conference on Friday, said Turkey would consider what steps to take following Thursday's 22-23 vote in the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, although he said it was too early to consider specific measures. The government, minutes after the vote was over, already announced that the Turkish ambassador in Washington, Namık Tan, had been recalled to Ankara.

“We are seriously concerned that this [resolution] approved by the committee, despite all our warnings, will harm Turkish-US ties and efforts to normalize Turkey-Armenia relations,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a statement posted on his office's Web site on Thursday evening.

Davutoğlu said on Friday the issue was a matter of “honor” for Turkey, which denies genocide charges and proposes a committee of historians to study the World War I-era events. The vote at the committee now sends the resolution to the House floor, where approval prospects are uncertain. In the past, US administrations have intervened successfully to block consideration of similar resolutions by the full House. This time, the Obama administration did tell Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Howard Berman that it was against the passage of such a measure, but only after weeks of silence. Ankara says the administration should now do more to prevent the resolution’s progression to the House of Representatives in order to avoid negative diplomatic consequences.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, FM Ahmet Davutoğlu warned of negative consequences to Turkish-US ties after a committee approved the Armenian "genocide" resolution the day before. Clinton: Resolution should not move to House US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s last-ditch efforts to prevent a “yes” vote on a resolution in the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs seeking to recognize the World War I-era killings of Anatolian Armenians as genocide failed, with the committee voting in favor of the resolution on Thursday. Clinton made clear that the Obama administration was against the resolution and called committee chairman Howard Berman on Wednesday to try to persuade him to shelve the vote. “I do not think it is for any other country to determine how two countries resolve matters between them, to the extent that actions that the United States might take could disrupt this process. Therefore, both President Obama and I have made clear, both last year and again this year, that we do not believe any action by the Congress is appropriate, and we oppose it. Now, the committee that you referred to has voted out such a resolution I think three times in the past. They’re likely to vote it out again. But we do not believe that the full Congress will or should act upon that resolution, and we have made that clear to all the parties involved,” Clinton added. In Ankara, US Ambassador to Turkey James Jeffrey, while speaking to reporters after leaving the Foreign Ministry, where he had been summoned by Turkish officials for talks on the issue, read out Clinton’s statement in response to questions. Jeffrey then added that the Obama administration was opposed to the measure being voted on in the full House. Ankara Today’s Zaman

Diplomatic sources said self-isolating measures such as shutting down the İncirlik Air Base used by the US military or cutting defense exports from the US are unlikely at this stage. But damages in the partnership with Turkey are likely to hurt US strategic interests in the Middle East and Afghanistan, where Turkey is a key contributor to the NATO-led peacekeeping force. Its growing clout in the Middle East has given Turkey a key role in the Middle East, making it a valuable ally for the US that is capable of exerting influence in areas and groups where the US presence and influence are limited.

To list a few accomplishments Turkey has achieved in the recent years, Ankara has played a key role in Obama’s strategy to get Afghanistan and Pakistan to work together in fighting al-Qaeda and Taliban militants within their borders, it is a major player in US-backed Arab-Israeli peacemaking and has mediated in indirect talks between Syria and the Israelis, and has offered to use its close ties with Iran to help solve a dispute between global powers and Tehran over its nuclear program.

Diplomatic sources said Ankara would now focus its energy on efforts to prevent the passage on the House floor of the resolution and urged the US administration to do more. “The picture shows that the US administration did not put enough weight behind the issue. We are seriously disturbed by the result,” Davutoğlu said. “We expect the US administration to, as of now, display more effective efforts. Otherwise the picture ahead will not be a positive one,” he said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the administration believed the resolution should not and will not proceed to the full House. But even if the resolution fails to make its way to the House floor, the tension -- a recurring theme straining Turkish-US ties almost on an annual basis -- is still expected to escalate in the coming weeks. President Barack Obama is preparing to issue a traditional April 24 message marking, according to Armenians, the start of the genocide campaign nearly a century ago and whether he would keep his election campaign promise to refer to the World War I-era events as genocide -- something he avoided in last year’s message -- remains to be seen.

Normalization with Armenia

The vote at the US congressional panel is also expected to further strain a process of normalization between estranged neighbors Turkey and Armenia. Davutoğlu said Turkey was determined to go ahead with efforts to restore ties with Armenia but said it would not be “pressured” into taking any decisions. According to the minister, the vote put the ratification of agreements to normalize ties with Armenia at risk.

Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols to open their closed border and restore diplomatic ties in October, but the deals have not been ratified in any of the national parliaments so far. Turkish sources suspect that the Obama administration has remained silent in the run up to the vote at the House committee, hoping that it would bring more pressure on Turkey to ratify the protocols. But they say such pressure is bound to be counterproductive.

Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), issued a statement on Friday, saying the protocols with Armenia must be withdrawn. He also urged Erdoğan, who is expected to visit Washington to attend an international conference, to cancel his plans. “Every intervention from outside is a new hurdle for Turkish-Armenian normalization efforts,” Davutoğlu said. Armenia, on the other hand, welcomed the committee vote. “We highly appreciate the decision,” Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian told Reuters. “This is further proof of the devotion of the American people to universal human values.”