American public did not understand this visit

After Obama left, I asked myself, "We talked about everything, but how did the American public perceive this visit?" I went through the American press and talked to diplomats and insider sources who watched this visit closely. The result was surprising. I was amazed when I saw that the American public did not quite comprehend this visit to Turkey. When I moved to the bottom of the cause, I understood why.

Let’s start with the formal wing. The U.S. administration watched this visit closely and received the necessary messages. There is no problem there. The bureaucracy knows now what the White House thinks about problems regarding Turkey and is preparing to react accordingly. The problem lies in the American public’s perception.

Attention has been drawn to the fact that this visit happened too early and without sufficient preparation. Some sources say that the administration has not yet completed its staff and team. A director of a civil society movement who said, "The media could not understand this visit. There are even some among them who still question why Turkey was visited," also said that the American public is preoccupied with economic issues and therefore cannot perceive issues like Armenia or Turkey very well.

If we take a look between the lines, we encounter the same points. What is important for the media are developments regarding huge companies on the verge of bankruptcy or how to implement decisions that resulted from the G20. There is neither interest in Cyprus, nor northern Iraq, nor Turkey’s full membership in the EU. In addition, if we look upon how the media reflects on this visit, we see before us "a message sent to the Islamic world." I paid attention and noticed that the president’s visit to the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, his meeting with students, his speech at Parliament and other contacts were especially perceived as flowers offered to the Islamic world.

The most important aspect the United States saw in this visit was the fact that the American media applauded Obama quite a bit. Obama is criticized as a sophomore politician and an inexperienced statesman in his country, but in his performance during the visit to Turkey, he was reflected as a natural politician, serious statesman and influential president.

Let’s talk about Obama’s visit in the light of Armenia. The Turkish media has described the U.S. president’s meeting with the Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers in Istanbul as a "surprise." Whereas, it was not a surprise. On the contrary, it was planned ahead, and the Armenian foreign minister came to Istanbul only because of this meeting.

The Armenian lobby in the United States is not very happy with the events in Turkey. And in Ankara, while responding to a question, Obama said, "I have not changed my attitude regarding genocide," and made the lobby smile. But his statement, "Despite that I will not interfere," caused the lobby to frown. The Armenian lobby is still persistently waiting for Obama to surprise everyone on April 24 and pronounce the word "genocide."

Atmosphere in Yerevan is different

Foremost, everybody is aware that the genocide issue depends on the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border. Obama has put Turkey and Armenia into a tunnel. When exiting the tunnel, the border needs to be opened and the diplomatic relationship between the two countries established. The diaspora wants Yerevan not to hurry. The opening of the border and establishment of diplomatic relations might lead to a temporary suspension of the genocide dispute or even result in a burial of the issue, never to come up again. The diaspora does not want that to happen. It makes plans to accuse Turkey of genocide and seek justice thereafter. Yerevan keeps its hopes high. The words of an Armenian diplomat are very interesting: "The genocide and Nagorno-Karabakh disputes only exist in details from now on. The United States took a step and started a process. It seems that it won’t be long until a result comes up." Here we go. Let’s hope for the best.