Two top US government officials arrived in Turkey on Saturday to try to cool a diplomatic row sparked by a US congressional vote labelling the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks an act of genocide.
"We thought it would be very good idea for two senior officials to go," said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who along with US President George W. Bush opposed Wednesday's resolution in the the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.
"We are certainly working to try to minimise any concrete steps the government might take (such as) restricting the movement of our troops," Rice said in Moscow. "I am hopeful we can prevent that."
The officials -- Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Eric Edelman, a former US ambassador to Ankara, and Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Dan Fried -- were due to have talks later Saturday with Turkish foreign ministry under secretary, Ertugrul Apakan, a Turkish official said.
Edelman told reporters as he arrived at Ankara airport that his visit was to express regret for the resolution being passed. The two had been accompanying Rice in Moscow and their diversion to Turkey was unscheduled.
"Mr Edelman knows Turkey well, he is a friend," said the Turkish official on condition of anonymity, adding: "They wanted to come to Ankara."
Turkey's anger over the vote on Wednesday in the US congressional committee continued to make itself felt with Minister of State Kursad Tuzmen, an influential member of the Turkish government charged with external trade, cancelling a visit to a US-Turkish business meeting in New York.
Tuzmen was the second Turkish official to cancel a planned visit to the United States after the Turkish Navy commander Admiral Metin Atac scrapped a trip in the wake of the Armenia vote.
Turkey had warned Washington that passing such a resolution could seriously damage bilateral ties and after the vote Ankara recalled its ambassador to the US.
According to Armenians, at least 1.5 million Armenians were killed from 1915 to 1917 under an Ottoman Empire campaign of deportation and murder.
Ankara acknowledges that 250,000 to 500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in the conflict after Armenians took up arms for independence but staunchly rejects the tag of genocide.
Turkey's furious reaction to the congressional vote has fuelled fears within the Bush administration that it could lose access to a crucial military base in NATO ally Turkey.
Though the resolution is non-binding, it is likely to come before the full House in November although bringing a legislative measure to the floor does not guarantee that it will proceed to a full vote.
Rice said in Moscow that the White House was trying to limit the damage to US-Turkish relations and would try to stop a vote going to the House floor although she said this would be "tough."
She added that she had spoken on Friday to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan following the vote.
"They were dismayed," she said.
