Epress.am News from Armenia
US President Barack Obama spoke to Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan following complaints from Ankara about Obama’s remarks on Armenian massacres under the Ottoman Empire, the White House said Monday, AFP reports.
Officials said Obama and Erdogan spoke about humanitarian efforts in Libya and the brutal government crackdown on protestors in Syria.
Obama also expressed hopes that Israel and Turkey could improve their recently difficult relations in a bid to bring some stability to the restive Middle East, a White House statement said.
On Sunday, Turkey had voiced “deep regret” over Obama’s remarks on the Armenian Genocide (in which he used the term “Medz Yeghern”), saying his annual statement on the issue “distorts the historical facts.”
“Therefore, we find it very problematic and deeply regret it… One-sided statements that interpret controversial historical events by a selective sense of justice prevent understanding of the truth,” the foreign ministry said.
In the message on the World War I-era massacres, Obama on Saturday however stopped short of using the genocide label that Turkey, a NATO ally, rejects, while urging “full” acknowledgment of the “horrific events.”
The White House did not mention the Armenian issue in a statement on Obama’s conversation with Erdogan, seeking to stress agreement on Libya and Syria.
“The leaders agreed that attacks against civilians must stop and that Qaddafi must step down and depart Libya permanently in order for there to be a lasting solution that reflects the will of the Libyan people,” the White House said.
“President Obama and Prime Minister Erdogan expressed their deep concern about the Syrian government’s unacceptable use of violence against its own people.
“The leaders agreed that the Syrian government must end the use of violence now and promptly enact meaningful reforms that respect the democratic aspirations of Syrian citizens.”