U.S: Turkey needs plan B if Congress passes Armenian Genocide resolution

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey needs a plan B in the likelihood the U.S. Congress passes a resolution endorsing Armenian Genocide under a new administration, said campaign advisers for the presidential candidates of both American political parties.



Richard Burt, campaign advisor to Republican nominee John McCain, and Philip Gordon, campaign advisor to likely Democratic nominee Barack Obama, discussed the implications of a Republican or Democratic victory for Turkish-American relations at a panel organized by the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) and the Brookings Institute.



U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic Party's top presidential candidate, has pledged to recognize the World War I-era killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as Genocide if elected president, as does his competitor Hillary Clinton.



Though not excluding a possibility of a change of heart, given that politicians act differently in practice than they claim in their election campaigns, Gordon advised the Turkish government to have a plan B on the Genocide Resolution issue. Marc Parris, a former American ambassador to Ankara, argued that Democrats will become stronger in Congress and said the Turkish government should be prepared.



Whereas Burt argued that both Democrats and Republicans see Turkey as a traditional ally, Gordon said the new administration will have to devise a new policy on Turkey and cannot afford to continue overlooking Turkey in favor of other priorities, the Turkish Daily News reports.