Obama’s Grand Tour: just don’t mention the genocide

After a generally triumphant trip across Europe, during which he has managed to banish the bad vibes of the Bush era and put his own stamp on the American presidency, one question shadows Barack Obama as he returns to Washington: has he bitten off more than he can chew with his energetic campaign to get Turkey into the EU?

As the BBC's North America editor Justin Webb, travelling with the US President, put it on the Today programme this morning, this was one issue where Obama was not pushing at an open door - and where the president even appeared to be out of touch with political reality.

Over the past two days, Obama has repeatedly urged that Turkey be allowed to join the EU - saying it first in Prague at his meeting with EU leaders, and again during his visit to Ankara. "Turkey is an important part of Europe," Obama claimed. "The US strongly supports Turkey's bid to become a member of the European Union... Europe gains by the diversity of ethnicity, culture and faith - it is not diminished by it. And Turkish membership would broaden and strengthen Europe's foundation once more."

But many key players in Europe are adamant that for a variety of cultural and political reasons Turkey's membership of the EU is a long way off. And it will not be the US that determines if and when Turkey joins. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said yesterday: "I have been working hand-in-hand with President Obama but when it comes to the European Union it is up to member states of the European Union to decide [on membership]." Just to be clear, Sarkozy added: "I have always been opposed to this entry and I remain opposed."

Among the many reasons given by those who oppose Turkish membership are the country's human rights record and its continued refusal to recognise the Armenian genocide during the last days of the Ottoman empire. Armenians in the US claim that 1.5 million of their ancestors were massacred between 1915 and 1918. Turkey has always maintained that the numbers are exaggerated and that it was not a deliberate genocide.

On this issue, Obama has been criticised overnight for avoiding using the 'G' word when he addressed the Turkish parliament in Ankara. This was a sharp change of tack from the US election campaign when Obama said: "The Armenian genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence."

Obama's new line might have been diplomatic given his audience, but it does not address the concerns of Europeans who have strict laws against Holocaust denial and want the Turks to own up to their past mistakes.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
Leading article in the Independent: It was unwise for President Obama, as an outsider, to wade into such rough waters. And Washington cannot easily gloss over the fact that Turkey has made little progress towards fulfilling the criteria of entry since the EU agreed to open accession talks with Ankara five years ago. However Turkey would be a useful addition to the EU and it is not in the interests of a single European to see the door slammed in Turkey's face.

Leading article in the London Times: Obama had every right to advocate Turkish membership of the EU. If this offends Sarkozy he will have to learn to live with the offence. Sarkozy is, of course, technically correct that the final decision on whether Turkey's stalled accession talks are allowed to resume will be taken by the EU member states. But he is wrong and, frankly, insulting, to suggest that the US has no part in this vital debate.

Chester Crocker, Professor of Strategic Studies at Georgetown University, on Politico: It might have been better not to advocate for Turkey's admission to the EU, a somewhat gratuitous bouquet for a head of state to throw to his hosts, one guaranteed to provoke France's energizer bunny president into pointing out that the US is not (yet) an EU member.

Asli Aydintasbas, Turkish journalist for the New York Times: Thank goodness Obama did not describe Turkey as a ‘moderate Islamic country’ like his political predecessors have been prone to. The phrase sounds good in Washington but in Turkey it is an outright insult. Obama instead embraced Turkey’s plurality of beliefs throughout his trip. It is wonderful that the president reminded Europeans that Turkey’s place is in Europe. But let’s hope he also reminds Turks that getting there requires more tolerance and reform.

Akbar Ahmed, former Pakistani ambassador and now a professor of Islamic studies for the San Francisco Chronicle: His trip to Turkey and the overtures he has made show how Obama is uniquely qualified among all the American presidents to really reach out and change the mood of the relationship between America and the Muslim world. He is the first president to talk about respect for the Muslim world.