At a weekly press conference Tan discussed news reports indicating that with the Democrats in control of both houses of Congress, the U.S. legislative body would consider a proposal on the alleged Armenian genocide. Tan noted that Turkey was following the efforts of the Armenian lobby to exploit the political situation in the United States with great concern.

Noting that bilateral relations between Turkey and the United States were multidimensional and strategic, Tan further said: "The U.S. has always been constructive and right minded vis-a-vis those kinds of efforts. We believe that the U.S. administration will continue the same approach. The relations between the U.S. and Turkey are so important that they transcend those insignificant issues."

Asked about the recent remarks made by Armenian authorities, Tan recalled that any concrete results from those efforts largely depended on Armenia's flexible and constructive approach to resolve the regional problems in compliance with the international legal rules and regulations.

Tan noted that Turkey requested information from Azerbaijani authorities concerning the allegations made by Armenian-origin Turkish citizen Burak Bedikyan that he was maltreated and not admitted into Azerbaijan.

Spokesperson Tan also noted that the European Union's invitation letter to initiate negotiations in the field of industry and establishments has arrived in Ankara. Tan stressed that the letter did not meet Turkey's expectations, as an invitation to start negotiations in four chapters was anticipated. Zaman