The Turkish foreign minister said in an interview with the Kanal 7 television channel that he hopes the U.S. will not make a wrong decision regarding the so-called "Armenian Genocide," the Turkish newspaper Haber Turk reported.
The Armenian lobby has strong influence in the U.S. Congress, Babacan said. Unlike previous years, Turkey and Armenia are holding discussions to improve their relations, he said.
The main objective of the Turkish-Armenian negotiations is to normalize relations.
"Normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian and Turkish-Armenian relations means establishing new geopolitics in the Caucasus," Babacan said.
Steps taken by third countries on the 1915 events could harm the negotiations, he said.
Turkey and Armenia are trying to normalize relations which were severed in 1993. The reason for the severance of diplomatic relations was Yerevan's anti-Turkey campaign aimed at recognizing the so-called "Armenian Genocide," as well as Armenia's occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul accepted the proposal of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to visit Armenia to watch a football match between Armenia and Turkey on Sep. 6, 2008, as part of the European Championship group games. After this visit, diplomatic efforts to normalize relations between the two countries have been underway.
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