Minister urges MPs to stave off ‘Armenian genocide’ campaign

Tuesday, 16 March 2010 12:28

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has emphasized the importance of effective parliamentary diplomacy, a new term in Turkish foreign policy, coined by the foreign minister on Monday during his biannual speech before Parliament’s Foreign Relations Commission to assess the course of Turkey’s foreign policy.
While expressing his gratitude on behalf of the government to the Foreign Relations Commission and the Turkish-American Interparliamentary Friendship Group for their tireless efforts to block the approval of the Armenian “genocide” resolution in early March, Davutoğlu said parliamentary diplomacy needs to be enhanced regardless of the level of intergovernmental relations, as was made plain by Sweden’s recent approval of a “genocide” resolution.

Turkey and Sweden enjoyed a honeymoon last year, when relations between the two countries reached a peak during Sweden’s EU presidency. However, Turkey was unable to prevent the adoption of a bill describing the Ottoman-era tragedy between the Armenian and Turkish communities as genocide. In contrast, Israel rejected the Armenian “genocide” bill in September 2009 despite deteriorating intergovernmental relations between Turkey and Israel.

Noting that speaking before the Foreign Relations Commission on a regular basis has become a nice tradition, Davutoğlu said the government will present an overview of Turkish foreign policy rather than focus on particular subjects. While stressing that they want to both inform deputies and listen to their views, Davutoğlu said this custom will continue.
Pointing to the fact that Turkey has once more understood the importance of parliamentary diplomacy, Davutoğlu said the Turkish Parliament needs to build good relations with the parliaments of other countries in addition to important institutions such as the European Parliament.

Davutoğlu said he will discuss with the Foreign Relations Commission how to make parliamentary democracy more effective and the kind of measures needed to be taken. Turkish Ambassador to the US Namık Tan and Turkish Ambassador to Sweden Zergün Korutürk, who were recalled immediately after the Armenian “genocide” bills passed through the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Swedish Parliament, respectively, also attended the meeting.

Davutoğlu said the Foreign Ministry is working very closely with the Foreign Relations Commission -- particularly over the latest developments related to the “genocide” bill at the US House. “They worked together to set a good example of national unity and solidarity. I want to thank the commission on behalf of the Foreign Ministry. Our cooperation will continue, and Parliament is the ultimate source of legitimacy for us. Regardless of our party’s origins, we are working hard to make our nation stronger and bring it to a respected place in international relations. We need to coordinate our joint activities and cooperate to achieve our joint target,” Davutoğlu said.