But she is unlikely to see on the same menu any timetable for a quick normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey, which Turkish officials say proceed on a separate track and according to different criteria.
Restoration of diplomatic ties between the estranged neighbors is a step that would certainly improve the atmosphere in favor of Turkey in Washington, where Armenian-American groups are lobbying strongly for US recognition of the genocide charges. April 24, when Armenians say the genocide campaign started more than 90 years ago in eastern Anatolia, will stand as a turning point in the recognition campaign because President Barack Obama, who has made firm pledges to Armenian-American voters to support their cause during his election campaign, will release an official statement on that day to commemorate the suffering of Armenians during the years of World War I. Given his clear pledge of support in the past, lobbyists expect him to break a tradition followed by American presidents until now to avoid the "g-word" in their April 24 messages.
A US presidential statement acknowledging the genocide of Armenians by the Turks would certainly be a deep blow to Turkish-US ties that neither Turks nor Americans would be happy to see. But Turkish policymakers make clear they will not trade a rapprochement with Armenia for US silence on the genocide issue.
"Our efforts to resolve our problems with Armenia are not linked to Armenian genocide claims in the US," a Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Friday. Given the complex issues that need to be worked out between Turkey and Armenia before any step in the direction of normalization, any drastic breakthrough is indeed unlikely in the near future, according to Turkish policymakers.
Turkey severed its diplomatic ties and closed its border gate with Armenia in 1993 in a show of solidarity with Azerbaijan, who was then at war with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia occupied a chunk of Azerbaijani territory due to a dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Ankara now says normalization of ties depends on an Armenian withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh (or at least a partial withdrawal from some of the occupied territory) and a reversal in the Armenian policy of supporting Armenian diaspora efforts to win international recognition for genocide claims, as well as a formal declaration by Yerevan for recognition of the current border with Turkey.
Hopes for rapprochement have been high since President Abdullah G
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