BUSH IN BID TO PLACATE TURKEY AFTER FAILING TO STOP ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VOTE

Cape Times (subscription), South Africa
Oct 12 2007

WASHINGTON: The Bush administration will try to soothe Turkish anger
after a House panel’s approval of a measure describing as genocide the
deaths of hundreds of thousands of Armenians early in the last century.

The House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee defied warnings
by President George Bush to send the measure to the full House for a
vote. The administration will now try to pressure Democratic leaders
not to schedule a vote, though it is expected to pass. Hours before the
vote, Bush and senior officials made last-minute appeals to lawmakers
to reject the measure.

In London for a visit yesterday, Defence Secretary Robert Gates
reiterated his opposition to the resolution, saying it could harm
US-Turkish relations at a time when US forces in Iraq are relying
heavily on Turkish permission to use their airspace for US air cargo
flights.