| | | | Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit, reading to gathered members of the press the message of thanks he had sent to the American president, said Clinton had played a major role in the withdrawal of the resolution before a vote of the full House. He thanked American politicians, Turkish diplomats, the Turkish mission in Washington, D.C., President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and others for their part in preventing the measure from reaching the floor of the House for debate. Ecevit stressed that the Turkish people would never forget Clinton’s efforts on their behalf.
In response to a question about improving relations between Turkey and Armenia, Ecevit said: “There are two requirements that Armenia must fulfill: the first being that it must cease its unfounded accusations aimed at harming Turkey. The second requirement is that it pull out of the 20% invaded territory of Azerbaijan.”
He said taking steps toward improving relations between the two countries was in the best interest of Armenia, whose people he claimed lived in a “miserable state” while ethnic Armenians living in the United States enjoyed a “comfortable” standard of living.
He said the withdrawal of the resolution was proof of how powerful Turkey was.
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"Armenian resolution" withdrawn
