Author: Nahapetian Samvel

TURKEY NEEDS TO COME TO TERMS WITH ITS PAST: LOS ANGELES TIMES

Tert.am
14:50 ~U 09.03.10

Turkey needs to come to grips with its bloody past so it can move
forward in its relations with Armenia and the US, reads a March 8
editorial in the Los Angeles Times.

An estimated 1.5 million ethnic Armenians were massacred in the final
throes of the Ottoman empire. That blood bath, carried out by the Turks
between 1915 and 1918, was genocide, and should be called by that name.

In approving a nonbinding resolution to make this the official
US position, Chair Howard L. Berman and other members of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee were responding to constituent demands that
the United States take a moral stand.

Now, Congress and the Obama administration must decide whether such a
symbolic act also serves the strategic interests of the United States.

For the moment, just like presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton
before him, Barack Obama appears to be saying no.

It is important for the United States to stand for historical truth on
the Armenian slaughter. Even more important is that Turks themselves
come to terms with their brutal history. From Germany to South Africa
to Argentina, there are many examples of countries that have confronted
their violent pasts honestly.

Instead, Turkey recalled its ambassador for consultations after the
23-22 House committee vote, saying the resolution offends the country’s
honour and warning of negative consequences for US-Turkish relations,
as well as for the ratification of agreements to normalize ties with
the Republic of Armenia. A more productive approach would be for the
Turks and Armenians to adopt the protocols hammered out last year to
establish diplomatic relations and reopen their shared border.

The US vote must not become a pretext for further stalling.

During the 2008 campaign, Obama was unequivocal in his support for
labeling the killings a genocide. As president, however, he has the
unenviable task of weighing that position against the need for Turkey’s
support in Afghanistan, in stabilizing Iraq and for United Nations
sanctions against Iran. Turkey is the only Muslim country in NATO,
and it currently sits on the UN Security Council.

We understand that any US administration must nurture the vital
strategic alliance with Turkey. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton, who coaxed Turkey and Armenia into signing the protocols last
year, noted that the agreement established a commission to examine
their bloody history and argued that "it is not for any other country
to determine how two countries resolve matters between them." That’s
true, but we also understand Armenian fears that such a commission
could whitewash history.

The goal is Turkish and Armenian reconciliation, putting to rest the
ghosts of the past. That is in the US interest as well as that of
both peoples. For it to happen, the onus is on Turkey to acknowledge
the Armenian Genocide.

The Daily Inquirer –
March 6 2010

Aide says Armenia resolution won’t get full US House vote

A congressional aide said that Democratic lawmakers bowed to concerns
expressed by the Obama administration and agreed not to schedule a
full House vote on a resolution that labels as genocide the killing of
Armenians in Ottoman Turkey.

The House Democratic leadership aide said yesterday that Congressional
leaders have no plans at this time for a chamber vote on the measure,
which a House committee approved on March 4. The aide spoke on the
condition of anonymity.

On a 23-22 vote, the resolution passed the House Foreign Affairs
Committee. Turkey responded by recalling its ambassador in Washington
for consultations.

While attending a conference in Costa Rica on March 4, US Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton had spoken out against a full House vote.
President Barack Obama’s administration `strongly opposes the
resolution,’ she reiterated yesterday.

Before word surfaced of the leadership’s decision yesterday in
Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said that a full
House vote would `impede the normalization process between Turkey and
Armenia. The best way for Turkey and Armenia to address their shared
past is through ongoing negotiations.’

rmenia-resolution-us-house-vote/0310418

ANSAmed – Italy
March 4, 2010 Thursday 12:31 PM CET

TURKEY: ARMENIANS; $45 BILLION ULTIMATUM TO WASHINGTON

ANKARA

(ANSAmed) Ankara threatened to cancel defense contracts totaling $45
billion with American companies if today the Foreign Affairs Committee
of the U.S. House of Representatives will pass a critical resolution
for the recognition of Armenian genocide claims. Daily Vatan describes
the Turkish warning as "economic ultimatum" adding that Vatan reports
that the CEOs of five US companies sent a letter to US congressmen to
highlight the hazards of the genocide resolution. They stressed that
the approval of the resolution would jeopardize exports totaling $10
billion.

Vatan says that despite the warnings, the Foreign Affairs Committee
was expected to approve the controversial resolution. Vatan gives
details about the companies campaigning in support of Turkey. Boeing:
THY has ordered 35 passenger planes. In the next 20 years, THY plans
to make deals with Boeing worth $21 billion. Raytheon: The company
holds talks with Turkish officials for the establishment of missile
defense systems to Turkey. The US government has announced that Turkey
could buy equipment worth $7.8 billion. Northrop Grumman: Turkey gives
$11 billion support to the Joint Strike Fighter project. Lockheed
Martin: Turkey has signed $2.9 billion deal for the purchase of 50
F-16 jets. The company also carries out a modernization project in the
Turkish Air Forces worth $635 million. United Technologies: Sikorsky
is one of the most powerful candidates for meeting the needs of the
Turkish army for 109 helicopters. If the company makes a deal with
Ankara, the helicopters will be produced in Turkey.

Vatan says that despite the warnings, the Foreign Affairs Committee
was expected to approve the controversial resolution.

Yesterday, as Vatan reported, Turkish President Abdullah Gul phoned US
President Barack Obama to reiterate Turkish concerns about the
genocide resolution to be discussed today at the Foreign Affairs
Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. According to the
daily, Gul asked the US administration to step in and block the
resolution. Gul warned that the approval of the resolution would harm
the normalization process initiated between Turkey and Armenia and
that strategic partnership between Turkey and the US would suffer a
heavy blow.

New York Times
March 5 2010

U.S. Vows Bid to Halt Armenian Genocide Measure Sign in to Recommend

By REUTERS
Published: March 5, 2010
Filed at 6:08 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration on Friday sought to
limit fallout from a U.S. resolution branding the World War One-era
massacre of Armenians by Turkish forces as "genocide," and vowed to
stop it from going further in Congress.

Turkey was infuriated and recalled its ambassador after a House of
Representatives committee on Thursday approved the nonbinding measure
condemning killings that took place nearly 100 years ago, in the last
days of the Ottoman Empire.

A Democratic leadership aide told Reuters there were no plans "at this
point" to schedule a vote of the full House on the measure, and a
State Department official said this was the administration’s
understanding as well.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, facing questions about the issue
while travelling in Latin America, declared Congress should drop the
matter now.

"The Obama administration strongly opposes the resolution that was
passed by only one vote in the House committee and will work very hard
to make sure it does not go to the House floor," she said in Guatemala
City.

The resolution squeaked through the House Foreign Affairs Committee
23-22 on Thursday despite a last-minute appeal against it from the
Obama administration, which feared damage to ties with Turkey. The
NATO ally is crucial to U.S. interests in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and
the Middle East.

The issue puts President Barack Obama between Turkey, a secular Muslim
democracy that looks towards the West, and Armenian-Americans, an
important constituency in some states like California and New Jersey,
ahead of the November congressional elections.

Similar resolutions have been introduced in past sessions of Congress,
but never passed both the House and the Senate. In 2007, the same
House committee passed such a resolution but it never came up on the
floor after then-President George W. Bush weighed in strongly against
it.

DAMAGED TIES

After the committee’s vote on Thursday, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip
Erdogan warned of possible damage to ties with the United States.

On Friday, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said chances of
Turkey’s parliament ratifying peace protocols with Christian Armenia
were jeopardized by the vote on the 1915 massacres.

One U.S. analyst said the normalization accords were mired even before
the U.S. resolution upset Turkey.

"The protocols were already in trouble and … what happened yesterday
makes much life much more difficult," said Henri Barkey, a visiting
scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former
State Department official.

Muslim Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks but denies that up to 1.5 million died and that it
amounted to genocide — a term employed by many Western historians and
some foreign parliaments.

The U.S. envoy in Ankara, James Jeffrey, distanced the Obama
administration from the resolution after being invited for talks by
Turkish officials. "We believe that Congress should not make a
decision on the issue," he said.

There was also anger in Baku, Azerbaijan, a close Muslim and
Turkic-speaking ally of Turkey. Its parliament warned that the U.S.
resolution could "reduce to zero all previous efforts" to resolve a
long-standing conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the
territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Kenneth Hachikian, chairman of the Armenian National Committee of
America, said supporters would gather next week to do a "whip count"
of House backers of the genocide resolution.

The resolution has 137 co-sponsors in the House, which is one measure
of support and not close to the majority of 217 needed to pass.
Advocates need to show they have enough votes to pass the measure for
it to be brought to the House floor, Democratic congressional aides
said.

The resolution urges Obama to use the term "genocide" when he delivers
his annual message on the Armenian massacres in April. He avoided
using the term last year although as a presidential candidate he said
the killings were genocide.

Ronald Reagan was the only U.S. president to publicly call the
killings genocide.

(Additional reporting by Andrew Quinn, editing by Matt Spetalnick and
Vicki Allen)

world/international-uk-turkey-usa.html

news.az, Azerbaijan
March 5 2010

Azerbaijan may recall ambassador from US
Fri 05 March 2010 | 10:38 GMT Text size:

Azerbaijani parliament The parliament deputy considers that Azerbaijan
should recall its ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from
the United States.

Azerbaijan should recall its ambassador in Washington in connection
with the support of resolution on "Armenian genocide" in the Committee
on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, says deputy of the
Milli Majlis of the pro-governmental Ana Vatan (Motherland) party
Zahid Oruj.

"History showed that the Azerbaijan has always taken the most correct
and timely decision in an emotional state. I therefore consider it
necessary to recall our ambassador to the United States with the
wording "for consultations", said the deputy at the plenary session of
the Milli Mejlis on Friday.

According to him, the opinion that the Committee on Foreign Affairs
House of Representatives adopted the draft resolution on "genocide"
under the pressure of the Armenian lobby is a delusion.

"There is a frank bargain. By using the document, the US side is
putting pressure on Turkey to force it to open the border with Armenia
and to disavow the prerequisite of the liberation of occupied
Azerbaijani lands by Armenia. In turn, this will lead to the victory
of the Armenian diplomacy", considers Z. Oruj.

"The United States have failed to appoint its ambassador to Azerbaijan
for already half a year. This fact does not prove friendly attitude of
Washington to our country. The absence of the US ambassador has
numerous subtexts, both political and pursuing the plans to impose
pressure on our country.

This is also connected with the fact that the United States is working
in direction of the opening of the Armenian-Turkish borders", added MP
Gudrat Hasanquliyev.

1 news.az

La Stampa: The massacre of Armenians was Genocide

05.03.2010 21:20 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Democrats tripped up President Obama, by adopting
the resolution , recognizing the Armenian Genocide during the First
World War, Maurizio Molinari wrote in the La Stampa newspaper.

Democrats voted for the resolution, a bipartisan coalition voted
against. During the voting ambassadors of Ankara and Yerevan were at
the hall of the House of Representatives, as well as delegations from
the parliaments of Turkey and Armenia.

The Turkish ambassador immediately after the procedure was recalled to
Ankara for consultations, while the Prime Minister of Turkey Recep
Tayyip Erdogan few minutes after the adoption of the resolution made a
statement saying that the vote could harm Turkey-US relations, and
also prevent efforts aimed at Armenian-Turkish reconciliation. U.S.
Secretary of State, in turn, condemned the adoption of the resolution
and expressed hope that the House of Representatives would not approve
it, La Stampa wrote.

TURKEY RECALLS US AMBASSADOR OVER ARMENIA GENOCIDE RESOLUTION
Daniel Nasaw in Washington

guardian.co.uk
Friday 5 March 2010 00.16 GMT

House of Representatives committee approve resolution describing
massacre of more than a million Armenians during the first world war
as genocide

Turkey tonight recalled its ambassador to the US after a House
of Representatives committee approved a resolution describing the
massacre of more than a million Armenians by the Ottoman empire during
the first world war as genocide.

The non-binding measure passed despite objections from the Obama
administration, which had warned the house foreign affairs committee
it would harm relations with Turkey – a Nato ally with about 1,700
troops in Afghanistan – and could imperil fragile reconciliation
talks between Turkey and Armenia.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul called the resolution "an injustice
to history and to the science of history."

However, Armenia applauded the passage of the measure, which its
foreign minister, Edward Nalbandian, described as "an important step
towards the prevention of crimes against humanity". He added: "This
is further proof of the devotion of the American people to universal
human values and is an important step towards the prevention of crimes
against humanity."

It remained unclear whether the resolution will come to a vote in the
full house. A similar 2007 resolution died after intense lobbying by
the Bush administration, amid fears it would damage relations between
Turkey and the US. Historians say that 1.5 million Armenians were
killed by the Ottoman empire between 1915 and 1923, during a forced
resettlement. "The overwhelming historical evidence demonstrates
that what took place in 1915 was genocide," writes Henri Barkey,
a Turkey scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
in Washington DC, who nevertheless opposes the house resolution as
a needless political manoeuvre.

The killings are considered one of the first instances of genocide
in the 20th century. Turkey insists its historical records indicate
no genocide took place, but points to a lack of common historical
understanding over the events.

After centuries of foreign domination, Armenia won independence from
the Soviet Union in 1991.

Under Swiss auspices, Turkey and Armenia have been negotiating a
normalisation of bilateral relations and an opening of the border,
outcomes which are strongly favoured by the US.

The house resolution is the product of intensive lobbying by
Armenian-Americans. Last year the Armenian national committee of
America spent $50,000 (£33,000) lobbying Congress on the resolution,
which urged Barack Obama to characterise the events as genocide in
an annual message commemorating the massacres.

During the presidential campaign, he referred to the killings
as genocide, but did not used the term last year in a statement
recognising Armenian remembrance day, which commemorates the massacres

On Wednesday, Secretary of state Hillary Clinton had called a senior
Democrat Congressman, Howard Berman, to warn that the resolution
could hurt US-Turkey relations.

DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA,VIGEN SARGSYAN UNDERMINES ARMENIA’S NATIONAL SECURITY
By Appo Jabarian

USA Armenian Life Magazine
March 4, 2010

In February, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President of Armenia Vigen
Sargsyan visited the Center for Strategic and International Studies
(CSIS) in Washington, DC, to discuss the prospects and "potential
benefits of normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia,"
according to the CSIS website.

During the question-and-answer session, in response to a question from
Mr. Kazari of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Washington,
DC, Mr. Sargsyan astonishingly said the following regarding the current
Armenian-Azeri border: "All those important parts of the borders can
be de-blocked. Our immediate borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan
have nothing to do with the territories around Nagorno Karabagh."

He continued: "Now as far as the occupation, our concerns are very much
in favor [of] … what is important [is that] the president of Armenia
[Serzh Sargsyan], who was the Minister of Defense of these territories,
has always stated that he does not think of these territories as
historic Armenian lands. He always stated that these territories
have to return to Azerbaijan when the settlement of Nagorno-Karabagh
is found."

In reference to the controversial former Foreign Minister of Armenia,
Mr. V. Sargsyan added: "Vardan Oskanyan’s reference to the word of
‘occupied territories’ [ignited] big internal discussions on what he
has to do" to mitigate the negative outcome in the mass media.

As many readers recall, in September 2007, I had called for Mr.

Oskanyan’s resignation or dismissal as Foreign Minister of Armenia.

The article was disseminated through several news outlets around
the globe.

In that article, I wrote: "Oskanyan has been Foreign Minister for
too long, without having achieved any substantial gains for Armenia.

Furthermore, Armenia squandered away many valuable opportunities
for diplomatic gains in the international arena and even sustained
self-inflicted damages thanks to Mr. Oskanyan’s mishandling of
several cases at the United Nations and elsewhere. It is absurd that
the foreign minister … mislabels the liberated Armenian lands as
‘occupied’ territories. … Isn’t it time for a change? The political
landscape is shifting. We need more proactive leaders in Armenia."

Is Mr. V. Sargsyan aware that the territories surrounding mountainous
Artsakh have always been part of Armenia?

The now-liberated territories around Artsakh are part of the entire
Region of Artsakh that extends to the Kura River, just east of the
border between the Republic of Artsakh and the former Soviet Socialist
Republic of Azerbaijan.

As Mr. V. Sargsyan should know, the Artsakh Region along with
Nakhitchevan was arbitrarily carved out of the 1918-1920 independent
Republic of Armenia. These regions were part of Armenia up until its
takeover by the Soviet occupation forces in November 1920.

In 1921, soon after Sovietization, Armenia was subjected to the
process of "Stalinization" when the infamous Soviet Dictator Josef
Stalin "gifted" the entire Region of Artsakh with its lowlands and
highlands; and Nakhitchevan to the then newly created Soviet Republic
of Azerbaijan.

Presently, the Republic of Azerbaijan continues to illegally occupy 1)
The northern Artsakh district of Shahumian; and Gandzak (Kirovabad); 2)
the outlying lowlands that extend to Kura River; and 3) Nakhitchevan.

One wonders if Pres. Serzh Sargsyan is aware of his Deputy Chief of
Staff V. Sargsyan’s latest serious international blunder (to say the
least), undermining Armenia’s national security interests during a
lecture in Washington, DC.

By using the misleading term "occupation," Mr. V. Sargsyan should
feel ashamed for having committed an act of blasphemy against the
memory of thousands of innocent Armenian victims of the 1988 Azeri
pogroms in Baku, Sumgait and Gandzak/Kirovabad and their deportation
staged by Azerbaijan.

Mr. V. Sargsyan also disrespected the memory of countless freedom
fighters that liberated Artsakh from the Azeri yoke during the Artsakh
Liberation War (1991-1994) which was in response to the 1988 Azeri
crimes against defenseless Armenians.

While still on the job, Mr. Sargsyan should steer away from or
remain unswayed by the influence of neo-con enablers in various
academic/diplomatic circles, such as the one inside the Fletcher
School of Diplomacy which he graduated from.

Interestingly, during recent years, the Fletcher School of Diplomacy
has been serving as the farming grounds for spineless Armenian
diplomats, among them former Foreign Minister Oskanyan.

To President Serzh Sargsyan’s credit, as soon as he took the helm
of Armenia’s leadership in 2008, he decommissioned Foreign Minister
Oskanyan because of his dismal performance.

It would only be logical, if Pres. Sargsyan were to deal with Mr. V.

Sargsyan, the way he dealt with Mr. Oskanyan. May be, Mr. V. Sargsyan
should not even wait – he should present his letter of resignation
sooner rather than later.

To listen to Mr. V. Sargsyan’s comments at CSIS, please fast-forward
to the last 5 minutes of his remarks, by using the following link:
( armenia-turkey-normalization-view-yerevan).

IN THE RECONSTRUCTION OF COMPANY AGARAK COPPER-MOLYBDENUM COMBINE IN ARMENIA WILL BE INVESTED $18-22 MILLION

ArmInfo
2010-03-05 17:34:00

ArmInfo. The tentative cost of the project of reconstruction privately
held company "Agarak copper-molybdenum combine" in Armenia (AMMK),
calculated for 2-3 years, composes $18-22 of mln. This, in the
interview for ArmInfo correspondent reported Sergey Ropeyko, chief
project engineer, developed by Russian project company Mekhanobr
Engineering. According to him, by the international company of
GeoProMining, into structure of which enters the company Agarak
copper-molybdenum combine last year was ordered Technical Economic
Assessment of reconstruction and studied the entire complex of the
measures, which must lead to reduction in prime cost and return
on the production produced. It noted that the investments will
be directed toward the reconstruction of the concentrating plant
of the combine and toward the building of the new building of the
main building of factory. Collocutor reported that the flotation
equipment at the factory will be completely substituted, which is
exploited from the 60’s. "Machines are old, although partially
they were modernized, spare parts changed, but, in the essence,
they have not been changed completely. Equipment works unstably and
it leads to the frequent stoppages", said S.Ropeyko. It is planned
to replace crushing equipments, floto-park Chief project engineer
added that the main building of factory also is in lamentable state
and they made a decision to construct the new building of flotation,
which subsequently can serve for the development of enterprise. In the
new building it is planned to place new additional capacities and to
ensure a rise in productivity. Specialist noted, after reconstruction
the indices on the extraction of copper and molybdenum will grow by
2%, what will lead from one side to a rise in productivity, and with
another – to a reduction in the prime cost of production. Essential
success is planned to achieve, also, on the part of the ecology,
collocutor added. In particular, aspiration systems for the purpose
of decrease of the quantity of dust will be substituted, will be
installed contemporary indozators of the reagents, which will exclude
the leakage of poisonous substances in the work places. Besides
this, on the new flotation equipment is installed a more effective
ventilation system, which will ensure the best working conditions,
chief engineer noted. He certified, that half of entire flotation
equipment are already in the warehouses of the combine and today
satisfy all necessary technical requirements of flotation. S. Ropeyko
reported that in this stage Mekhanobr Engineering is on the initial
stage of the development of the design, whose delivery to customer is
outlined in August – September 2010. The periods of the realization
of project will be tentatively 1-3 years. From an economic point of
view, the reconstruction will make it possible to increase the design
volumes of output and ore processing from the present 3 mln. tons
to 3,5 mln. tons per year. However, these design capacities can be
substantially increased in the long-term outlook. The building of the
new main housing of factory will make it possible to place new power
equipments in the liberated old building of flotation. With the start
of the second turn of flotation repartition, it is possible to attain
output and processing of 6 mln. tons of ore per year, collocutor said.

Let us note that Mekhanobr Engineering was created on the base of the
design and scientific parts of the institute Mekhanobr in December
1990 and has a 90-year experience of activity, which was specialized
in development of technologies and planning of 250 ore-dressing
enterprises in the territory of Russia, CIS and other states. By the
projects of Mekhanobr Engineering were constructed Agarak copper-
molybdenum combine and Zangezur copper-molybdenum combine in Armenia,
and also Madneuli in Georgia. At present the company works on the
projects of mining companies Norilsk nickel, Severstal.

The group of the companies of GeoProMining acquired the shares
of Agarak copper-molybdenum combine in December 2007. GeoProMining
specializes in the output, the enrichment of polymetallic ores (copper,
molybdenum, antimony and precious metals (gold, silver).

Company has a diversified structure of production and markets for
sale. Deposits and processing plants of company are located in Armenia,
Georgia and Russia and in Vietnam.

JEWISH GROUP OPPOSES ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’ BILL

Hurriyet
March 2 2010
Turkey

Turkey’s newly appointed ambassador to Washington has dived into a busy
schedule to prevent the passage of the Armenian "genocide" bill in his
first days in office and received support from a Jewish organization.

Ambassador Namık Tan met with "the representatives of almost all
Jewish lobbies and organizations in Washington" over the weekend,
according to sources in the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C.

According to the same sources, Tan met with the representatives of
"eight or 10 Jewish organizations," including the Anti-Defamation
League, or ADL; American Jewish Community, or AJC; and B’nai B’rith
International. They say the meetings are not only focused on the
Armenian "genocide" bill.

A day after his meetings, the Jewish Institute for National Security
Affairs, or JINSA, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that
addresses the security requirements of both the U.S. and Israel,
released a report titled, "The Armenian Resolution Should be Opposed
and Defeated."

"As the Turkish government began to slide — and then rush — away
from its relationship with Israel and slide — and then rush —
toward new accommodations with Syria and Iran, the Jewish community
has become less inclined to use its organizational skill on behalf of
the agenda of a country that is less inclined toward the Western side
of the great divide. It doesn’t help that the Turkish ‘request’ for
‘help’ has begun to sound more like a threat of damage yet to come,"
the report said.

However, it concluded that "to the extent that either side believed
opposition to the resolution was a test of loyalty, or tied it to
extraneous issues, they made a mistake. The Armenian resolution -driven
largely by the Armenian-American community- should be opposed and
defeated. But the reasons stand without regard to the [increasingly
difficult] behavior of the Turkish government and without regard
to [increasingly difficult] Turkish-Israeli or Turkish-American
relations."

Tan already met with the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, Howard Berman last week as well as several key members of
the House, the embassy source confirmed. He also met with the Turkish
associations working in the United States last week.