Turkey will not remain silent over genocide resolution if adopted - Davutoglu
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Tuesday that Turkey is closely following developments over the Armenian genocide resolution that was passed by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week and that it will not allow “any political exploitation” of the issue, Today's Zaman reported.
In his remarks in Mexico City, where he was attending informal talks with his counterparts from Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Australia, Davutoglu said the resolution would not have any negative effects on Ankara-Washington ties at this stage, but stressed that Turkey will not remain silent if the resolution is adopted by the Senate.
“We [Davutoglu and US Secretary of State John Kerry] haven't spoken to each other as there has been no new development; however, our stance is clear. Under no circumstances will Turkey allow any political exploitation of this nature,” Davutoğlu said, according to a report the state-owned Anadolu news agency released on its website on Tuesday.
He dismissed the possibility of the resolution being submitted to the Senate, saying that this is “not expected” and that Turkey does not anticipate the “possibility of the resolution being adopted.” He stated that Kerry also told him that he did not expect the resolution to pass the next stage.
“If the resolution is submitted to the Senate or plenary session of the House of Representatives or if a statement is made by the government, we will reiterate our position and on the condition of it being adopted, it will most certainly not be possible for Turkey to remain silent,” Davutoglu said.