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|  | September 17, 1999 The Honorable William J. Clinton Re: Visit of Mr. Bulent Ecevit Dear Mr. President, I have written to you on a number of occasions about U.S. relations with Greece, Cyprus and Turkey. These are issues to which you have stated that you attach a high priority. The forthcoming visit of Turkish Prime Minister Ecevit provides an excellent opportunity to make progress on these issues which have such important implications for U.S. national interests. Many of the questions in this area remain open. Turkey continues its illegal occupation of Cyprus and encourages the Turkish Cypriot side in its intransigence; Turkey continues to make irredentist claims against sovereign Greek territory; Turkey continues to oppress the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul and to harass the Orthodox Church in Turkey; Turkey continues its pattern of human rights abuses against its own citizens, including its Kurdish minority. The recent earthquakes in Turkey and Greece have introduced a new element into these matters. In the wake of these tragedies a new spirit of cooperation has come into being between Greece and Turkey. AHI has shared in this warming of relations in a friendly exchange with the Turkish Ambassador in Washington about the earthquake. This new spirit provides a favorable background for regional progress. The Turkish earthquakes have laid an enormous burden of reconstruction on Turkey. Hopefully, it has brought home to Turkey that it cannot go it alone in the region but needs good relations with its neighbors and the European Union. I hope this means that Turkey now understands that it is clearly in its national interest to divest itself of the sources of tension between itself and Greece and the rest of Europe. This will take an act of will by the Turkish government, foremost by the Turkish military which has the final say on all major decisions of the Turkish government. Warm feelings are not, however, a sufficient precondition of diplomatic success. This will require sustained intervention by the Administration. In your public declarations, especially with regard to Cyprus, you have already given assurances of the Administration's readiness to tackle these issues vigorously. Mr. Ecevit's visit provides the opportunity to turn these assurances into practical policy. I trust that you will stress to Mr. Ecevit the need for progress and counsel him forcibly that the time has come to make substantial and rapid progress on Cyprus, the Aegean and the Patriarchate. On all these issues, the substance is well established and the scope of the settlements accords well with Turkey's national interests. I hope you will emphasize to him the high importance attached to these issues by the United States and that the U.S. will draw adverse conclusions from any continued refusal by Turkey to negotiate constructively. This is particularly necessary over Cyprus where Turkey is allowing Mr. Denktash to frustrate the G8 and UN Security Council's initiative. Turkey needs to call Mr. Denktash to order. Periodic warmings in Greek-Turkish relations have taken place in the past. All too often these favorable moments have passed fruitlessly into history because of Turkish intransigence fueled by its military. I feel confident that the Greek government would respond creatively to a real Turkish gesture on these issues. It is very much in the U.S. interest that Turkey does not miss this opportunity and I urge you to stress this to Mr. Ecevit. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMRespectfully, MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMEugene T. Rossides
cc: Members of the Congress | |||
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