Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu is paying an important visit to Washington prior to United States (U.S.) President Barack Obama's annual April 24 speech on the 1915 incidents. During his visit, Çavuşoğlu is expected to meet with the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday. Çavuşoğlu aims to focus his efforts on urging Washington not to use the word "genocide" in Obama's speech.

Apart from this issue, Çavuşoğlu and Kerry are also to discuss the crisis in Yemen, the latest developments in Syria, the ongoing fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and Turkey's contribution to a possible ground operation in Mosul, the resumption of peace talks on Cyprus, Ukraine and the issue of energy security. Turkey's demand for the U.S. to deport the U.S.-based imam Fethullah Gülen, who is listed as a prime suspect in three different legal cases and accused of leading a terrorist organization by Turkey, will also be on Çavuşoğlu's agenda.

Attaching importance to the visit, the U.S. State Department wants to extend the duration of the talks between Çavuşoğlu and Kerry, which are already expected to last an hour-and-a-half. According to diplomatic sources, State Department officials are planning to skip a question and answer session at a press conference for extra time for bilateral talks between Çavuşoğlu and Kerry.

Apart from his meeting with Kerry, on Tuesday Çavuşoğlu will also meet with the U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, and will continue his working visit by attending a meeting with Kerry and the Senators, which is expected to last for two hours. He will meet with U.S. National Security Advisor, Susan Rice, on Tuesday and strategies to fight terrorism and resolving of regional crises are planned to be discuss at the meeting.