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Turkey recalls US ambassador over genocide dispute
Friday, October 12, 2007
By AFP
Turkey on Thursday recalled its ambassador to Washington in anger at a
resolution passed by a US Congress committee which says the Armenians
were victims of genocide by the Ottoman Turks, Anatolia news agency
said.
The ambassador, Nabi Sensoy, was recalled for consultations on the
text which could now go before the full House of Representatives, said
the news agency.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that his government
would do everything possible to stop the adoption of the resolution by
the full House and was studying possible action if the motion is
passed.
At least 1.5 million Armenians were killed from 1915 to 1923 under an
Ottoman Empire campaign of deportation and murder, according to
Armenians. Turkey strongly rejects the genocide label, but
acknowledges that 250,000-500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks
died in strife after Armenians took up arms for independence.
The resolution was adopted by the House of Representatives Foreign
Affairs Committee on Wednesday and President George W. Bush’s
administration said it would lobby the full Democratic-led chamber
against taking it further
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Source: ope/20071011-turkey-us-armenia-ambassador-recalled -erdogan.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress