The Armenian Genocide: Normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations could relieve Obama's dilemma

PanARMENIAN.Net - Barack Obama's April 5-7 visit is a nod to Turkey's regional reach, economic power, unrivalled diplomatic contacts and status as a secular Muslim democracy that has accommodated political Islam. "It's a symbolic piece of public diplomacy at a time maybe not of crisis, but great uncertainty in US-Turkish relations," said Philip Robins, a Middle East expert at Oxford University.



Turkey will not be the venue for Obama's promised major speech in a Muslim capital, but Lawrence Korb, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, said his stop there was still a way to emphasize his message of reaching out to Muslims. Obama may unlock the kind of goodwill generated by former US President Bill Clinton when he came to Turkey in 1999, but risks dissipating it all if he uses another G-word, genocide, to describe the fate of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915.



"With the PKK [outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party] under control in Iraq and the Americans at least not confronting Iran at the moment, the Armenian issue is the thorniest," Robins said.



Ironically, Turkey and Armenia are perhaps as close as they have ever been to normalizing ties and reopening the border. Ömer Taşpınar a fellow at the Brookings Institution, argues that accelerating this process could relieve Obama's dilemma. "This is exactly what President Obama needs," he wrote, urging Turkey's ruling party to show "visionary statesmanship."



If the Armenian issue can be finessed, Obama has everything to gain from reinvigorated US-Turkish ties, particularly when he is making overtures to adversaries such as Iran and Syria. He has already sent Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Middle East envoy George Mitchell on visits to Ankara. "Turkey plays a pivotal role in this region. If you are going down this route of cooperation and dialogue, countries that have open channels like Turkey are the ones you want to talk to," Karim Makdisi said at American University of Beirut, Reuters reported.