Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb 23 2007
US congresswoman supports Turkish stand on Armenian issue
Turkish-American relations would be negatively affected if the
Armenian genocide resolution gets approval from the House of
Representatives, said Virginia Foxx, a Republican member of the US
Congress.
As US President George W. Bush puts special importance on national
security and counter-terrorism, the US administration is concerned
that approval of the resolution would have a negative impact on the
American fight against terror and its relations with Turkey.
Foxx’s statements came after a luncheon meeting with the
Turkish-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry held in her honor
at a Turkish restaurant in New York. Fox joined the Turkish-American
Friendship Group in the US Congress, after she was elected the North
Carolina representative, in an effort to help improve relations
between Turkey and America.
Putting her personal stance on the resolution in words that expressed
opposition to the bill because, she believed, there was no sound
reason behind it, Foxx further said that most representatives who
signed the resolution do not actually know much about it and have not
thought about it deeply. Foxx added that the recent shift of power in
the House of Representatives from the Republicans to the Democrats
was adding to the concerns of the US administration. Historically, US
Democrats have been more supportive of the Armenian claims than
Republicans.
House Speaker and Democrat Nancy Pelosi has expressed support for the
resolution. The Armenian genocide resolution was introduced on
January 30th and currently has about 170 co-sponsors.
Mustafa Merç, the president of the Chamber, told the Anatolia news
agency that they were maintaining a series of one-to-one connections
with US congressmen in order to convey a truthful picture of problems
facing Turkey, to improve the American image of Turkey and to prevent
the passage of the Armenian resolution.