Erdogan cool on returning ambassador before seeing clear US stance on 'genocide' resolution

Turkey will not send back its ambassador to Washington before receiving a clear message from the US administration on the "genocide" resolution, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters while visiting Saudi Arabia yesterday. Last week Turkey temporarily recalled its ambassador in Washington Namik Tan minutes after a US congressional panel narrowly passed a resolution labeling the incidents of 1915 as "genocide." Erdogan said the passage troubled Turkey, as the US is one of its strategic allies and partners. Stating that though the decision wasn't binding the attitude it showed was important, he said Turkey is waiting to see Washington's stance on the issue. Erdogan said he doesn't believe the US will sacrifice its strategic partner to political purposes. Alongside protocols signed last fall to normalize relations between the two countries, Turkey and Armenia agreed to take steps to form an impartial scholarly commission, including Armenian, Turkish and other international experts, to examine the historical records concerning the incidents. This followed a 2005 proposal by Ankara along the same lines.