A US congressional committee voted on March 4 to label the killings of Anatolian Armenians during World War I as genocide, straining relations between Turkey and the US. Following this, Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Çağlayan announced he had postponed a planned trip to the US that was to take place later that week.
The association said on Saturday that their visit to the US had been “delayed indefinitely.” TÜSİAD Washington representative Abdullah Akyüz said in a written statement that they had decided to call off the trip since “the possibility of yielding a favorable result from the visit is now weaker than it used to be.”
“As is known, TÜSİAD places great importance on maintaining healthy relations between Turkey and the US. We think the current tension between the two countries should no longer continue and are committed to contributing to efforts to reinstate a healthy atmosphere for dialogue,” the statement read. The association said TÜSİAD maintains the hope that the delayed trip will take place once relations return to normal.
