Today's Zaman: Armenia has rescheduled BSEC foreign ministerial meeting for Babacan

PanARMENIAN.Net - According to Turkish daily Today's Zaman "Armenia has rescheduled a foreign ministerial meeting of Black Sea countries, apparently as a goodwill gesture to ensure Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan will be among the participants, diplomatic sources have said."



As it is mentioned in the article "Armenian authorities moved the date of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) meeting from the previously announced April 29 to April 16. The shift is significant because April 29 is only a few days after April 24, which Armenians claim marks the beginning of a genocide campaign against Armenians in the early 20th century."



Besides, April 24 is also the day when US presidents release a traditional message to commemorate the Armenian Genocide.



Armenian-American groups expect President Barack Obama to break with presidential tradition and use the word "genocide" in his message this year, given the strong promises he made to Armenian-American voters during his election campaign that he would endorse the genocide claims.



"Turkish officials have refrained from discussing whether Babacan will attend the BSEC meeting. Although Ankara has a high opinion of BSEC and wants to revitalize it as an influential regional consultation mechanism, Babacan's participation in the group's next meeting in Yerevan will still depend on Armenia's commitment to the ongoing rapprochement process and on the course of closed-door talks with Armenia, officials say. The same officials also make it clear that Turkey has made no request for the foreign ministerial gathering to be rescheduled.



Before the foreign ministerial gathering, BSEC countries are due to hold ministerial-level working meetings also in Yerevan. The energy ministers of BSEC countries will meet on March 13, while the transportation and agriculture ministers will gather on March 27 and April 10, respectively. This means other Turkey Cabinet ministers may visit Yerevan before Babacan", Today's Zaman reports.