Turkish officials to meet advisors of U.S. presidential candidates

Ahmet Davutoglu, chief foreign policy advisor to Erdogan and Suat Kiniklioglu, deputy chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish parliament would convey Turkey's stance on a number of crucial issues, including PKK terrorism, the so-called Armenian "genocide" claims, Cyprus and other regional problems, to the advisors of both candidates, Hurriyet wrote.

The officials are also expected to reiterate Turkey’s desire to continue cooperation against the terror organization, PKK, and reaffirm that their country looks favorably on the territorial integrity of Iraq.

Davutoglu and Kinikoglu would also seek U.S. support to Turkey's proposal for the "Caucasus Cooperation Platform".

Turkey would also urge the U.S. presidential candidates to listen to Turkish views on the so-called Armenian "genocide" claims, aside from focusing solely on the Armenian claims.

Armenia, with the backing of the diaspora, claims up to 1.5 million of their kin were slaughtered in orchestrated killings in 1915. Turkey rejects the claims, saying that 300,000 Armenians along with at least as many Turks died in civil strife that emerged when Armenians took up arms, backed by Russia, for independence in eastern Anatolia.

In 2005, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan took a first step towards resolving the issue by proposing a joint commission of historians launch an investigation and publish their conclusions, but the proposal was rejected by Yerevan.

Turkey believes that the opinions Washington imparts to the Armenian diaspora in the United States would also contribute to the stability in the Caucasus, Hurriyet wrote.

A warmer period began between Turkey and Armenia, who for more than a decade have not had any diplomatic relations over Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan, after Turkish President Abdullah Gul paid a landmark visit to Armenia early September.