Anatolian Times, Turkey
March 18 2007
Turkish Parliamentary Delegation Concludes Talks In Washington D.C.
WASHINGTON D.C. – "Talks of the Turkish delegation were very
fruitful. I was not so hopeful during my last visit to Washington
D.C. 8 weeks ago. The U.S. party is now aware of the seriousness of
the matter," Turkish Justice & Development Party (AKP)
parliamentarian Egemen Bagis said on Friday.
The Turkish parliamentary delegation concluded talks in Washington
D.C. where they visited to lobby against the resolution on so-called
Armenian genocide.
Speaking at a news conference held at the Turkish embassy, Bagis said
following the visit of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to
New York, Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, Foreign
Minister & Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul, and Turkish
parliamentary delegations to Washington D.C., both the Congress and
U.S. administration better understood Turkey’s sensitivity on the
matter.
Recalling that there has been a reaction in Turkey against the U.S.
foreign policy in the recent years, Bagis said, "there will be a very
negative impact if this resolution passes."
Bagis said Turkey could reconcile with Armenia, however that Armenian
diaspora living in the USA and the West deliberately prevented this.
On the other hand, another AKP parliamentarian Vahit Erdem indicated
that, "we have seen that the atmosphere has been changing as regards
to the resolution. However, the situation is still critical."
"Relations between Turkey and the United States will inevitably be
negatively affected if the resolution is adopted," he added.
Republican People’s Party (CHP) parliamentarian Ersin Arioglu in his
part said Turkey, which has been passing through a critical period,
was under some kind of siege, and was face to face with a very big
slander like genocide.
Reha Denemec, another AKP parliamentarian indicated that the
resolution would not be advantageous for Turkey and the USA.
Bagis said the Turkish delegation met around 30 members of the House
of Representatives.
A third Turkish delegation is scheduled to visit Washington D.C. at
the end of this month with the same goal.