Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
Oct 13 2007
US officials arrive in Turkey to discuss Armenian bill
Ankara, 13 October: The US assistant secretary of state, Dan Fried,
and the US undersecretary of defence, Eric Edelman, arrived in Ankara
on Saturday [13 October] for one-day working visit.
Edelman told reporters at the airport that Fried and he were glad to
be in Turkey, adding, "We obviously wish that circumstances were a
bit better."
"Ambassador Fried and I were in Moscow with the secretary of state,
Condoleezza Rice, and the secretary of defence, Robert Gates, and
they asked us to divert our travel plans to come here to Turkey to
talk with our colleagues and Turkish government first of all to
express our regret over the House vote on the resolution (regarding
Armenian allegations on the incidents of 1915)," he said.
Edelman said that their determination as the administration will
continue to oppose the bill at the Congress.
He said that they also wanted to talk to their colleagues in Turkey
about other issues on current concerns.
Edelman and Fried are expected to meet Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Undersecretary Ertugrul Apakan.