Washington briefing: Obama visits Turkey, calls Azerbaijan

by Emil Sanamyan

Published: Saturday April 11, 2009

President Obama prepares to enter Istanbul’s Blue Mosque on April 7, 2009.

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Washington - President Barack Obama visited Turkey on April 6-7 in an effort to rebuild a troubled alliance and reach out to the Muslim world. The White House reported that on April 7, Mr. Obama also placed a call to the president of Azerbaijan.

Addressing the Turkish parliament, the U.S. president said he was "committed to renewing the alliance" that has come under strain as U.S. and Turkish policies on Iraq, Iran, and the Middle East conflict drifted further apart in recent years.

Mr. Obama said his visit was evidence of the importance he placed on U.S.-Turkish relations, although no formal agreements were announced during the trip. From the first days of his administration, Mr. Obama said he wanted to reach out to the Islamic world and was expected to visit a majority-Muslim country in the first months of his presidency.

In January, Turkey invited Mr. Obama to attend a United Nations conference dubbed the Alliance of Civilizations, held in Istanbul. The invitation led to an official visit to Turkey at the end of Mr. Obama's tour of Europe.

Speaking in parliament, Mr. Obama praised Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and the Turkish political system, while also noting that there are disagreements and outstanding issues such as the history of Armenian-Turkish relations.

The latter subject also featured in a "good conversation" Mr. Obama had with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, in which the "U.S commitment to a strong relationship with Azerbaijan and to supporting progress toward a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict" were reiterated.

According to Hurriyet newspaper, upset with reports of progress in Armenia­-­Turkey talks, Mr. Aliyev refused to attend the Alliance of Civilizations meeting even after being telephoned by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who reportedly promised a meeting with Mr. Obama.

Instead, Mr. Aliyev dispatched his daughter Leyla Aliyeva. Ms. Aliyeva serves as the Moscow representative for the Heydar Aliyev Foundation headed by her mother Mehriban Aliyeva.