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Erdoğan to visit US, envoy to return after ‘genocide’ row
Following the adoption of a nonbinding resolution by the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs on March 4 recognizing the World War I-era killings of Ottoman Armenians as genocide, Turkey recalled its ambassador in Washington, Namık Tan, to Ankara for consultations, while Erdoğan put his visit to the United States later this month, during which he is to attend the nuclear energy summit in the US capital at the invitation of US President Obama, on hold.
“We have made our assessment with our colleagues,” Erdoğan said in response to questions from reporters on Friday, adding that he decided to respond ini the affirmative to the invitation, which he received around five to six months ago. “Before attending the summit -- as I said yesterday [Thursday] -- we will send our ambassador to the US within the next week,” he added.
When asked whether it was possible to say the recent crisis in bilateral relations between Ankara and Washington has come to an end, Erdoğan did not say whether tensions had decreased but stressed the importance of the April 12-13 summit.
 Ambassador Tan is to return to Washington soon. |
Recalling a telephone conversation between US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on Sunday, which was initiated by the US side, Erdoğan added that “there are some positive developments on this issue. I hope these positive developments continue during the month of April as well.”
The prime minister’s emphasis on the month of April was an explicit reference to Ankara’s expectations concerning the wording of Obama’s traditional April 24 message. Last year, Obama avoided using the g-word in his message, although he had pledged to recognize the Armenian diaspora’s genocide claims in his election campaign.
April 24 is the day Armenians claim marks the anniversary of the beginning of a systematic genocide campaign against Anatolian Armenians in the last years of the Ottoman Empire.
“The US side has received the necessary message,” Turkish diplomatic sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Today’s Zaman on Friday when asked about the reason behind Erdoğan’s decisions on both the nuclear summit and Tan’s return.
According to Ankara, Clinton’s conversation with Davutoğlu -- during which the former reiterated that the Obama administration stands opposed to the resolution on the Armenian genocide and is also against a full House vote on the measure -- has proven that the US administration got Ankara’s message. “The continuation of actions signaling a protest would be harmful for us after this moment. What mattered was giving the message,” the same diplomatic sources said.
Meanwhile, Deniz Baykal, the leader of main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), suggested on Friday that Erdoğan’s decision to attend the summit was “a step back.”
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