Turkish trade minister canceled trip to US in response to Armenian Genocide bill

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey's trade minister has canceled a trip to the United States in response to a U.S. House panel vote last week on Armenian Genocide bill.

Zafer Çağlayan was scheduled to depart for the U.S. on March 19 with a large business delegation, the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review has learned. The governmental decision was made Monday during consultations with the country’s ambassador to Washington, who had earlier been recalled in a show of protest.

Speaking to reporters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: "As long as the situation does not get any clearer, we will not send our ambassador back to Washington. America should not let go of a strategic ally like Turkey over such an issue," he said, describing the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs' decision as "a comedy stunt."

Erdoğan blamed the vote on a combination of "unbecoming" voting procedures in the U.S. Congress and a change of attitude by the "Jewish lobby" to back the resolution. "The Jewish lobby in the U.S. supported this resolution," he said.