In wake of US passage of 'genocide' resokution, ambassador Tan begins consultations in Ankara

Turkey's Ambassador in Washington Namik Tan, who was recalled to Ankara for consultations last week after a US House panel narrowly passed a resolution recognizing the so-called Armenian "genocide" claims, yesterday met with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and other high-level diplomats to evaluate the situation. During their meeting, Tan reportedly told Davutoglu how Congressman Howard Berman, the House Foreign Affairs Committee head, had strong-armed the resolution's passage. Turkey has firmly criticized the resolution, warning that it threatens both Turkish-US ties and the ongoing rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia. After last week's vote, the White House announced its opposition to the resolution reaching the full House. Today Tan is also expected to be received by President Abdullah Gul at the Cankaya Presidential Palace. Davutoglu has said Turkey expects the Obama administration to do all it can to prevent the resolution from coming to a full House vote. He also said they would closely follow developments through April 24, when US President Barack Obama is set to issue a message marking Armenian Remembrance Day. In his first such message last year, Obama declined to use the word "genocide" to characterize the incidents of 1915. In related new, Marcel Berlins, a columnist for British daily The Guardian, yesterday slammed passage of the resolution as "an ignorant stunt," saying recognizing "genocide" claims isn't up to the US Congress.