Turkey / United States / Armenian Genocide

US, Turkey Ease Strains over Armenian "Genocide" Bill
Vietnam Net, April 3, 2010
"The United States and Turkey saw their strains over the Armenian 'genocide' resolution ease Friday as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a planned trip to Washington for a nuclear summit and the decision to send Turkish ambassador back to the U.S. capital. The thaw came after a phone talk between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu late Sunday, an attempt to smooth over tensions caused by the adoption of a resolution passed by a U.S. congressional panel last month that recognizes the World War I-era deaths of Armenians under Ottoman rule as 'genocide.'
In the phone conversation, Clinton assured the White House opposition to the resolution, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday. The phone talk was a positive signal, Erdogan told reporters after a meeting in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Friday. 'I hope these positive developments will continue during my visit,' he was quoted by the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News as saying. Angry at the resolution, Turkey recalled its ambassador to the United States Namik Tan immediately and warned such acts could harm bilateral relations and the ongoing normalization process with Armenia. Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic ties and are bogged down in a long-time row over the killings of Armenians during the World War I, which Armenia brands as a genocide. Turkey strongly denies that. In response to a question whether U.S. President Barack Obama will host a meeting between him and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan during the Washington summit in mid-April, Erdogan said Friday he would hold talks on the sidelines of the summit and hinted at discussions about the Armenian issue. [...]"