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US Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone denies to call 1915 events as â€œgenocideâ€

03 August 2011 08:22 (UTC +04:00)

Washington. Isabel Levine â€“ APA. US Ambassador to Turkey Francis Joseph Ricciardone, Jr. told the senators that attended his confirmation hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Commission, August 2, that the Obama Administration hopes for progress over Nabucco pipeline, APAâ€™s Washington DC correspondent reports.

â€œWeâ€™re intensively engaged on this project. It is complicated- there are several countries involved. Weâ€™re in touch with them on top levelsâ€, the Ambassador said answering the question raised by Senator Richard Lugar reminding the Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Morningstarâ€™s recent visits to Turkey.
â€œThey were pushing on that topic during their conversation with the Turkish leadersâ€¦ Also, Turkeyâ€™s Prime Minister Erdogan went to Azerbaijan last week and he was intending to talk about this issueâ€, he added. â€œWeâ€™re hoping the next step for Nabuccoâ€.

The Ambassador also mentioned that building on close cooperation in the 1990s that helped make Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan a reality, the US and Turkey are working together to bring Caspian gas to the European markets for the first time through a new route called the â€œSouthern Corridor.â€

â€œWe welcomed the June 2010 agreement signed by Turkey and Azerbaijan on the gas purchase and transit of Azerbaijani gas to Turkey as an important milestone in laying the foundation for the Southern Corridor. The corridor would provide commercial benefit for the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia and also create a long-term partnership based on mutual interests with Europe. Overseeing the safe passage of oil through the Bosporus Straits and the transport of oil through the BTC pipeline, which pumps nearly a million barrels of oil a day to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, Turkey plays an important role in world energy marketsâ€, he said.

Ricciardone, who was sent to Turkey under a recess appointment because he could not be confirmed last year, was expected to face harsh criticism from a number of Democrat senators who believe the Obama administration has not been tough enough on Turkey-Armenia historical disputes.

Although Ricciardone no longer has to worry about the complaints of now-retired Senator Sam Brownback, but he still faces potential opposition from Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Menendez Bob Menendez (D-NJ). Kirk doesnâ€™t want the administration to make a missile defense deal with Turkey and Menendez wants the administration to refer to the 1915 events as a "genocide."

In response to a question by Sen. Menendez, Amb. Ricciardone denied to call the 1915 events as aâ€œgenocideâ€ and stood behind President Obamaâ€™s characterization of the â€œMedz Yeghernâ€, which means â€œgreat crimeâ€.

â€œFacilitating regional integration is a high priority for the United States. We commended the governments of Turkey and Armenia on signing the historic protocols on normalization of relations on October 10, 2009 in Zurichâ€, he mentioned.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee vote on the nominee is not expected until after August Congressional Recess.