Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 2 2007

Turkish envoy warns against tensions with US over `genocide’ bill

AssA-Irada 03/02/2007 01:00

The Turkish ambassador to Azerbaijan Huseyin Avni Karslioglu has said
that should the US Senate pass a decision to recognize the so-called
`genocide of Armenians’, this could lead to major tensions.

In an interview with representatives of the leading media on
Thursday, the envoy said his country was taking the needed steps to
avert a tide of tensions with the United States.

`At this point, the `genocide’ issue may be discussed at the House of
Representatives (the US legislature’s lower chamber) and the Senate,
but passing any decision on the matter would be wrong,’ said
Karslioglu.

US ambassador to Turkey Ross Wilson said earlier that the Congressmen
had worked out a new draft resolution alleging that the death of 1.5
million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I
could be classified as genocide, but the Bush administration would
block the bill. The `genocide’ bill was submitted to the House of
Representatives by members of the congressional taskforce on Armenian
issues.

The Turkic world strenuously denies the claims on the so-called
`genocide of Armenians’.