Turkish minister: "Armenian issue is closed"

US-Turkish relations and South Caucasus’ place in this relationship as well as the security in the region, such as Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and Turkey-Israel crises, have been actively discussed nowadays in Washington DC, between US and Turkish officials.

Turkish Diaspora Organizations have jointly launched the first "Turkish American National Leadership Conference, Empowering Turkish Americans", with participation of top US and Turkish officials and analysts on March 17th addressing such issues as the rise of the Turkish Government, Turkish-European relations and South Caucasus’ role.

Among the main speakers are Egemen Bagis, Minister for EU Affairs of Turkey, Bruce Fein, Turkish American Legal Defense Fund Defending the Constitutional Rights of Turkish Americans, as well as Turkish and Azeri Diaspora leaders.

According to Bagis, beside the conference the Turkish side has informed US officials during bilateral conversations about Ankara’s policy on the region.

"There is a dispute of some misunderstanding between Turkey and the United States on their policies in the region” he says, “but the two sides at least listen to each other’s positions and opinions".

Although April 24 is approaching, Bakhish said he didn’t feel any Armenian genocide issues during the negotiations with Congress members this year. "This issue is closed", he said.

Noticing that both Turkey and US play an important role as mediators in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the conference attendees also stressed the importance of closer co-operation between South Caucasus and Turkey. Speaking about the Turkey-Armenia relations, the speakers mentioned that, if the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh was solved some time ago, then it would be easier to hold the Ankara-Yerevan processes.

Another conference to address the US-Turkish relations will be held March 18, Turkish American Solidarity Day, will be dedicated to civic engagement education and training.

On March 23rd, The George Mason University and Azerbaijani Student Union are holding Azerbaijani and Turkish Night at Marvin Center’s Continental Ballroom. There will be presentation of Azerbaijan and Turkish culture, music, and cuisine.


/APA/