Washington "Not Seeking" Escalation With Turkey

Washington is not seeking an escalation with Turkey, but is rather hoping to "put stability and predictability" into their relationship, a senior U.S. diplomat, who until recently was involved in the U.S.-Turkish diplomacy, told TURAN's Washington correspondent on Saturday.

President Biden made history yesterday by saying one single word - formally labeling the mass extermination of the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War a "genocide" - risking future diplomatic relations with one of the key allies.

Ankara fired back, saying that the U.S. President has "neither the legal, nor moral" authority to make judgements on historical matters. U.S. Ambassador David Satterfield was called in to the Turkish Foreign Ministry late last night, in apparent rebuke to the White House statement.

Turkey's reaction was "absolutely predictable", an American diplomat, speaking with the condition of anonymity, told TURAN's correspondent.

Relations between Washington and Ankara have soured dramatically in recent years, "and was clearly headed toward the wrong direction", the diplomat said, citing Ankara's decision to purchase the Russian S-400 air defence system, as well as policy disputes over ISIS, Kurds, etc.

"It's time for our countries to speak to each other honestly, and move forward," the source added.

Biden plans to meet with President Erdogan in June in Brussels, according to a White House readout on the Friday call between the two leaders.

Per critics in Washington, a new foeign policy tactic of the Biden administration is to "signal the need for dialogue on the one hand, and increase pressure on the other."

Yet, President Biden in his carefully crafted statement on Armenian Remembrance Day avoided finger-pointing at modern Turkey - by using “Constantinople”, and not today’s Istanbul, for the Ottoman capital.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.