European foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration signal to the Muslim world and firmly anchor the country in Europe. The trip marked Obama's first visit to a Muslim majority country. Obama has asserted that a close relationship with a stable, democratic, Western-oriented Republic of Turkey is an important U.S. national interest. His administration declared that the U.S. will support the promotion of democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression in Turkey and support its efforts to join the European Union, which the president confirmed on his April visit. While Obama has gone on the record in the past as referring to the massacre of Armenians under the
Foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration described his allegiance with Israel as being "sacrosanct". Under President Obama, the United States increased aid for Israel's Iron Dome. On September 20, 2011, President Obama declared that the U.S. would veto a Palestinian application for statehood at the United Nations, asserting that "there can be no shortcut to peace". Furthermore, in February, the administration had vetoed a U.N. resolution declaring Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal. In 2014 Obama said that only a two-state solution could ensure Israel's future as a Jewish-majority democracy. Ehud Barak described Obama's support for Israel as being unparalleled and the most supportive in