H.RES.252 PASSAGE MAY DRAW FORTH NEW PROCESSES IN CAUCASUS

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.03.2010 13:00 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution by
the U.S. Congress will damage Ankara-Washington relations, former
NKR Foreign Minister said.

"Adoption of the resolution may draw forth new processes in Caucasus.

It may promote consolidation of Russian-Turkish ties and also hamper
Karabakh talks," Arman Melikyan told a news conference in Yerevan
on Wednesday.

He also noted that Washington’s current policy is alienating Ankara.

Member of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia Rafik Petrosyan
said, for his part, that if Ankara doesn’t ratify the Protocols on
normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations until April 24, Yerevan
can withdraw its signature and freeze the reconciliation process.

The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet
Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks
held through Swiss mediation. On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional
Court of the Republic of Armenia found the protocols conformable to
the country’s Organic Law.

The Armenian Genocide resolution (H.Res.106) was submitted to the
House of Representatives by Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA), on
January 30, 2007, during the 110th United States Congress. It was
a non-binding resolution calling upon the US President to ensure
that the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate
understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human
rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States
record relating to the Armenian Genocide, and for other purposes. Upon
its introduction it was referred to United States House Committee
on Foreign Affairs where it passed a 27-21 vote and was sent back
for a full house vote. On October 26, 2007, in a letter addressed
to the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, four key sponsors of the bill,
requested a debate on the bill in full House to be postponed.

Another resolution affirming the U.S. record on the Armenian
Genocide (H.Res.252) was formally introduced in the U.S. House of
Representatives by Reps. Adam Schiff (D.-CA), George Radanovich
(R.-CA), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D.-NJ), and Mark Kirk (R.-Ill) in 2009.

It currently has 137 co-sponsors.