FM Armenia-bound on eve of key date
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 11, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - Foreign Minister Ali Babacan has accepted an invitation from his Armenian counterpart to attend a regional summit in Yerevan. The move has been interpreted as a further step by Ankara to avoid a U.S. presidential proclamation of the alleged genocide of Armenians this April 24, daily Hürriyet reported yesterday.
Babacan will participate in the foreign ministerial meeting of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation set for April 16 and 17 at the invitation of Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian. The move is expected to give Ankara an upper hand before a critical visit by President Barack Obama, who is expected in Turkey next month. But Turkish diplomats speaking to the Daily News said nothing yet was certain, but that the Foreign Ministry was also contemplating possible consequences of Babacan not visiting Yerevan before April 24.
In a televised interview at the weekend, Babacan said he was invited to Yerevan for the summit, adding that he had not yet decided because there were other programs that overlapped with next month’s meeting.
The Armenian question was on the agenda during U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s trip to Turkey last Saturday, although diplomatic sources in Ankara said it was off the table. A joint statement released after the Babacan-Clinton meeting highlighted efforts to normalize Turkish-Armenian relations.
Babacan still sees risk
Babacan said the new U.S. administration appreciated Turkey’s opinions and sensitivities regarding the alleged 1915 killings but said there was still a "risk" over the U.S. stance on the issue. Obama said on several occasions during his election campaign that he would recognize the 1915 incidents as "genocide."
"I can easily say that the current U.S. administration perceives Turkey’s opinion and sensitivity on this matter. We have no difficulties with communication in that sense," Babacan said, adding that the issue could be solved without overshadowing relations between Turkey and the United States.
The Black Sea Economic Cooperation was founded in 1992 in order to promote stronger economic cooperation among Black Sea countries and promote peace and stability. BSEC member states are Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Greece, Moldova and Serbia. Armenia assumed the rotating presidency of BSEC on November.
In a televised interview at the weekend, Babacan said he was invited to Yerevan for the summit, adding that he had not yet decided because there were other programs that overlapped with next month’s meeting.
The Armenian question was on the agenda during U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s trip to Turkey last Saturday, although diplomatic sources in Ankara said it was off the table. A joint statement released after the Babacan-Clinton meeting highlighted efforts to normalize Turkish-Armenian relations.
Babacan still sees risk
Babacan said the new U.S. administration appreciated Turkey’s opinions and sensitivities regarding the alleged 1915 killings but said there was still a "risk" over the U.S. stance on the issue. Obama said on several occasions during his election campaign that he would recognize the 1915 incidents as "genocide."
"I can easily say that the current U.S. administration perceives Turkey’s opinion and sensitivity on this matter. We have no difficulties with communication in that sense," Babacan said, adding that the issue could be solved without overshadowing relations between Turkey and the United States.
The Black Sea Economic Cooperation was founded in 1992 in order to promote stronger economic cooperation among Black Sea countries and promote peace and stability. BSEC member states are Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Greece, Moldova and Serbia. Armenia assumed the rotating presidency of BSEC on November.