TURKEY: U.S. officials visit Turkey to defuse tensions

Two top U.S. officials visited the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Saturday (October 13) amid worsening ties between the NATO allies and fears Turkey will launch a military incursion into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels. Relations between the two countries have been strained by a U.S. congressional resolution branding as genocide massacres of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915. Some analysts believe the vote could weaken Washington's "restraining" influence on Turkey and make an incursion more likely in coming weeks. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried and U.S. Under-Secretary of Defense Eric Edelman flew from Moscow where they have been accompanying Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on a visit. After visiting the foreign ministry, Edelman said he and Fried regretted the approval of the resolution by the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday (October 10) and acknowledged the hurt felt by the Turkish people. "They asked us to convey to our Turkish colleagues, the determination of the administration to continue to oppose this resolution and to try and prevent it's passage. We had a good and constructive discussion in which our colleagues expressed their disappointment and the hurt of both the government of Turkey and the Turkish public," Edelman said. The two are likely to hear sharp criticism from the Turkish government, which this week recalled its ambassador to the United States for consultations and said U.S.-Turkish relations were in danger because of the resolution. Washington harbours growing concerns about the possibility of a major Turkish military incursion into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels there who are seeking a homeland in eastern Turkey. U.S. officials fear such an action could destabilise a relatively peaceful area of Iraq. "I think we will certainly convey the concerns that were expressed and the concerns that the patience of the Turkish public is running out with regard to this issue that was expressed to us, that will certainly be conveyed," said Edelman talking about the Kurdish attacks against Turkish troops. The presence of Edelman may aim to appeal to the Turkish military, a highly influential institution in the mostly Muslim but secular nation. Edelman was U.S. ambassador to Turkey from July 2003 to June 2005.

ITN Source | October 14, 2007

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