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Obama Hails Protocols As Erdogan Presents Ultimatum

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  • Obama Hails Protocols As Erdogan Presents Ultimatum

    OBAMA HAILS PROTOCOLS AS ERDOGAN PRESENTS ULTIMATUM
    By Ara Khachatourian

    Asbarez
    Dec 4th, 2009

    President Barack Obama hailed the Armenia-Turkey protocols and pledged
    US support for the process as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
    Erodagan, on the eve of his meeting with the president, issued an
    ultimatum to the White House saying that normalization process could
    not move forward without an end to the Karabakh conflict.

    "We have announced to U.S. representatives since the beginning that
    if you want to resolve the Turkish Armenian issue you should also
    resolve the Karabakh conflict. Otherwise, you will fail to resolve
    either," Erdogan told the Azeri ANS TV ahead of his scheduled meeting
    on December 7 with Obama at the White House.

    "This is because the Turkish-Armenian issue and the Nagorno-Karabakh
    problem are interrelated. I told this to Barack Obama and Dmitry
    Medvedev, to which they replied: 'We will accelerate this question,'"
    claimed Erdogan adding that "if the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is
    settled, the Turkish-Armenian problem will also be finally resolved."

    Meanwhile in Washington, Obama, in response to a letter addressed to
    him by a group of Armenian organizations supporting the protocols,
    among them the Armenian Assembly of America, the AGBU and the Diocese,
    voiced his "vigorous" support for the protocols, but again fell short
    of characterizing the events of 1915 as "genocide."

    "I agree that normalization between Armenia and Turkey should move
    forward without preconditions and within a reasonable timeframe. On
    October 10, Secretary Clinton represented the United States at
    the historic signing of the protocols providing a framework for
    normalization. We continue to support Armenia and Turkey as they move
    ahead to fulfill the promise of normalization," said Obama.

    "Regarding the past, I deeply appreciate your views on what is one of
    the great atrocities of the 20th century. As I said in my Remembrance
    Day message, my view of that history has not changed. My interest
    remains the achievement of a full, frank, and just acknowledgement of
    the facts. I believe that the best way to advance that goal is for
    the Armenian and Turkish people to address the facts of the past as
    part of their efforts to move forward. We will continue to vigorously
    support the normalization effort in the months ahead," added Obama.

    "Prime Minister Erdogan - having succeeded in using the Ankara-inspired
    Protocols to enlist the cooperation of yet another U.S. Administration
    into its campaign to block recognition of the Armenian Genocide -
    is now coming to Washington to cement his gains and further press
    his advantage," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.

    "High on his agenda, it seems, will be showcasing Turkey's public
    disregard for President Obama's twin priorities for Armenia-Turkey
    normalization, namely that they be established without preconditions
    and within a reasonable time-frame. Today, more than seven months
    after our President's speech in Ankara - during which he broke his
    pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide - it's patently clear that
    Turkey has in fact imposed preconditions, will not act in a reasonable
    time-frame, and, more broadly, views this entire process as simply
    a way to extend U.S. complicity in Turkey's denials from one April
    24th to the next," added Hamparian.

    Erdogan, whose government unequivocally rejected a US call for troops
    to Afghanistan, travels to the US with the intention to address the
    Karabakh conflict within the context of the Armenia-Turkey protocols,
    ignoring Obama's own clearly-stated view that the Armenia-Turkey
    talks should proceed without preconditions.

    At the same time, the White House has chosen to selectively respond to
    Armenian-American community concerns, choosing to address only those
    voices that represent a clear minority in support of the US-backed
    protocols.
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