The chief foreign policy advisor of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned the future US administration against endorsing Armenian claims of genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, saying this could hurt a recent thawing of Turkish-Armenian relations and torpedo relations with the United States.
Ahmet Davutoglu, seen as the major architect of the foreign policies of Erdogan's government, said in Washington that the US should avoid "offending" Turkey to ensure that the reconciliation process with Armenia will continue. "A step in the wrong direction will pose a risk not only to the Turkish-American strategic cooperation but also to Turkey's efforts to reach out to Armenia," Davutoglu told reporters late on Tuesday after a series of talks with US officials. The Democratic candidate for US president, Senator Barack Obama, has made firm pledges to the Armenian-American voters that he will recognize the allegations of genocide and support a congressional resolution endorsing the claims. One of the biggest Armenian groups in the United States, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), announced last week that it formally endorsed Obama for US president because of his commitment to Armenians. Turkey has repeatedly warned in the past that US recognition of the genocide claims could have an irreversible impact on Turkish-US ties, newly recovering from a crisis over Iraq. Most Turks favor Obama over his Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, who has been far less receptive to Armenian demands during his election campaign so far, but there are concerns over the prospects that the Democratic candidate might keep his promise to the Armenian voters if elected.
Davutoglu said the issue has the potential to generate a crisis in US ties no matter who turns out to be the winner of US elections on Nov. 4. "If the goal is improvement in Turkish-Armenian relations, everyone should avoid steps that would offend Turkey," said Davutoglu in response to a question on concerns over Obama's pledges to Armenians. "We have been sharing these thoughts with officials in the United States. I am not saying, 'We said this to Obama.' It is important that the new administration know about this." President Abdullah Gul broke a taboo when he visited Armenia in September to watch a soccer game between national teams of the two countries. Talks between officials of the two countries, which have no formal ties since 1993, are under way on normalization of relations. Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian said this week that the two countries could announce "extraordinary decisions" at any time, emphasizing that there was no real barrier to efforts to normalize ties.
Davutoglu echoed Nalbandian's remarks in a speech at a conference earlier that day. "We want to have the best relations with Armenia.
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