TURKEY HAS RECALLED ITS AMBASSADOR TO WASHINGTON FOR CONSULTATIONS

Radio New Zealand, New Zealand
Oct 11 2007

…

following a decision by a US congressional committee to brand the
killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during the World War I as
"genocide".

A senior Turkish diplomat told the Reuters news agency that they have
not pulled the ambassador back permanently.

He is expected to arrive in the Turkish capital, Ankara, in a few days.

US President George Bush has warned that the committee’s action,
the first step towards holding a vote in the full House, could damage
relations with a key ally in the so-called "war on terror".

Turkey handles most of the US air freight to Iraq.

The Turkish president, Abdullah Gul, says the move is unacceptable
and has no validity.

Turkey has always vehemently opposed the charge that it systematically
killed up to 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1918.

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