TURKISH LAWMAKER WARNS U.S. DIPLOMAT OVER ARMENIAN BILL
Journal of Turkish Weekly
Feb 17 2010
A Turkish lawmaker has said he had conveyed Turkey’s concerns over
possible damage that an Armenian bill could inflict on relations
between Ankara and Washington.
"We told the U.S. ambassador that Turkish-U.S. relations could suffer
a great blow if the bill on the incidents of 1915 came to the Congress
floor for debate and it was adopted by the House of Representatives,"
Murat Mercan, head of the Turkish parliament’s foreign relations
committee told reporters after a meeting on Tuesday with the top U.S.
diplomat in Ankara, James Jeffrey.
Armenian lobbying groups in United States speed up efforts each year
as April 24 draws closer to persuade U.S. lawmakers to adopt the
Armenian bill on the incidents of 1915.
Mercan said such Armenian efforts "made negative impact" on the
Turkish society and hurt bilateral relations.
"And Mr. Ambassador told us that he would convey our concerns to the
U.S. House and the administration," Mercan said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
