Statements by U.S. Officials

Remarks by U.S. Senator Jon Kyl Following a Meeting with Foreign Minister Gül

Ankara, January 10, 2005

SENATOR JON KYL: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for gathering here. My name is Jon Kyl. I’m a senator from the United States, the state of Arizona. I chair a delegation which has come to Turkey from the Palestinian area and Israel yesterday. On my left is Senator Lisa Murkowski from the state of Alaska, a senator. On my right is the senator from the state of Florida, Mel Martinez. And here is a representative in the United States Congress from the state of Washington, his name is Adam Smith. We are delighted to be here and to have had the opportunity to have brief meetings with the Speaker of the Assembly and the Foreign Minister. On both occasions, we had a good and frank exchange of views on a variety of topics, including the ways in which Turkey has already volunteered to be of assistance to help bring the Palestinian people and Israelis together now. They have an opportunity to begin anew their discussions for a lasting peace. We talked about our satisfaction that the ascension to European Union status is now on its way. We had some discussions about the timetable for that, and our hope that it will occur quickly. We discussed the situation in Iraq -- the terrorism -- the fact that starting tomorrow there will be delegations coming here to discuss what can be done to deal with that issue. All in all, we had a very good opportunity to review again the long and very productive relationship that Turkey and the United States have enjoyed, and the necessity for both countries to continue that kind of relationship. With that, if you have maybe one or two questions we’ll be happy to try to take them. We are very late for another engagement, so I have to keep it very brief.

JOURNALIST: Mr. Kyl, were you aware of the statements made by a Turkish parliamentarian – his name is Elkatmis – claiming that the United States is committing genocide in Iraq? How is it perceived in the Congress and do you think it might have any impact on the so-called Armenian genocide issue?

SENATOR KYL: We are aware of comments generally that were made and that were beyond exaggeration. They were entirely incorrect and fallacious and, I think, most of the people are aware of that fact. And yes, they are troubling because they create a very wrong impression in a country that is very important to the United States -- Turkey. It is important to us that the Turkish people understand all of the facts. We may not always agree with each other, but it’s important at least to know the facts. There could be repercussions in the United States Congress, but hopefully we will be able to move beyond that and work together in the future. I thank you very much for your interest in our visit. Thank you very much.