Armenian resolution tension with US appears to thaw, as envoy readies to return to Washington

Strained relations between Turkey and the US due to a US House panel vote to recognize the so-called Armenian "genocide" claims last month seem to have settled down as Turkey is preparing to return Ambassador Namik Tan, who was recalled to Ankara for consultations in protest of the "genocide" resolution, to Washington. After nearly a month, Tan is expected to get back to work at the Turkish Embassy in Washington next week. Government sources said that recalling Tan to Ankara was not meant to harm Turkish-US relations, but was aimed at giving a strong message to the US administration over the resolution. The same sources said the government was planning to take a number of normalization steps in relations with its traditional ally before waiting for US President Barack Obama's April 24 message (for Armenian Remembrance Day) because the administration made it clear that it understands Turkey's sensitivities on the issue. On Turkey deciding to return Tan to Washington, recent statements by high-level US officials assuring Turkey of the administration's opposition to the resolution and calling for Tan to be sent back to Washington seem to have been key. Also a recent phone call between US Secretary of Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, in which Clinton assured Davutoglu of the Obama administration's firm opposition to the resolution reaching the House floor, cleared the way for mending strained relations. In related news, Davutoglu is scheduled to attend a meeting of Bosnian Business Forum, and to meet with US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg on the sidelines of the event. Steinberg recently said the Turkish side has made its concerns about the House committee vote known. "We've also made clear our position on that resolution," he added. "So we hope that this is the basis to move forward because we have a lot of business to do together." In other news, citing the Swedish government's clear rejection of a resolution by Sweden's Parliament recognizing the so-called "genocide," Turkey's Ambassador to Stockholm Zergun Koruturk returned earlier this week. The government decided that the Swedish government had taken the necessary steps to assure Turkey that it rejects the non-binding resolution and that the resolution is only "advisory" in character. Koruturk was recalled to Turkey on March 11.