Ambassador Tan set to return Washington today

Turkey's Ambassador to Washington Namik Tan, who was recalled to Ankara last month after a US House panel passed a resolution seeking official recognition of the so-called Armenian "genocide" claims, straining relations between Turkey and the US, is set to return today to the US capital. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently announced that later this month he would attend a nuclear security summit in Washington, hosted by President Barack Obama, reversing an earlier cancellation due to the resolution row. After receiving firm assurances from high-level US officials, including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, that the US administration remains opposed to the resolution and it going to the full House, Turkey decided to take steps to reduce tension with the US in the runup to Obama's April 24 message for Armenian Remembrance Day. In related news, after arriving in Washington, Tan will start with making arrangements for a trilateral meeting among Erdogan, Obama and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on the sidelines of the summit. During this meeting, the three will discuss how to revive the stalled normalization process between Turkey and Armenia.