President Barack Obama has figured out Turkey's importance for the United States much sooner than his predecessor, a former US ambassador to Turkey has said, asserting that the ties would have been put into deep freeze had Obama used the word "genocide" in a recent message to refer to killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.
Obama refrained from using the "g-word" in the traditional message for an Armenian remembrance day, but the fact that he said his views on the issue have not changed and used the Armenian phrase to describe the World War I events led to bitter complaints from Turkey.
"I have no doubt that had the statement contained the word 'genocide,' US-Turkish relations would have gone into a deep freeze that would have taken years to thaw," former US Ambassador to Turkey Mark Parris told a conference at the private Rumi Forum in Washington on Thursday.
Asked what would be the best time for the US to recognize Armenian genocide claims, the veteran diplomat was cautious, saying there may never be a good time for this.
Turkey rejects Armenian claims of genocide, saying both the death toll, said to be 1.5 million by Armenians, was inflated and that the killings occurred as the Ottoman Empire was trying to quell Armenian revolts for independence. Obama made firm promises during his election campaign that he would endorse the genocide claims. During a visit to Turkey earlier this month, he said his views had not changed but that he also did not want to harm the ongoing process between Turkey and Armenia to normalize relations.
Parris said both Turkey and Armenia complained about Obama's statement but emphasized that "it did no lasting harm," as neither the Turkish-US partnership nor the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process have been damaged.
Parris also underlined that the Obama administration rejected an argument that Turkey's government has been systematically reorienting Turkey's foreign policy onto an Islamist axis and that therefore it should not be rewarded by an early presidential visit. "Whatever the merits of this argument, the Obama administration, by scheduling the visit, have decisively rejected it," he said.
The US ambassador also asserted that the relationship with Turkey was now being "managed at the very top levels of our new government." He said the US administration has been "true to its public declarations of readiness to listen and be responsive to Turkish viewpoints and concerns" and added, "The approach seems genuinely to be:
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