ANKARA WATCHING U.S. MEASURE ON ARMENIA

OfficialWire
March 4 2010

Turkish leaders said they hope U.S. lawmakers will use common
sense when considering a resolution on atrocities committed against
Armenians.

U.S. Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., is backing a resolution on its way
to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs that
would classify atrocities committed against the Armenia population
under Ottoman rule in 1915 as genocide.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he hoped Washington
wouldn’t undermine regional relations and pass the measure, Turkey’s
English-language daily newspaper Hurriyet reports.

"I trust the leadership and common sense of (U.S. President Barack)
Obama, who is closely following the ongoing normalization efforts
with Armenia," he said.

Ankara says Armenia is illegally occupying the disputed territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh, which is also claimed by Azerbaijan. Turkey closed
its border to Armenia because of a 1993 invasion of the territory.

Ankara expressed hope the U.S. congressional resolution wouldn’t
pass, fearing pressure over normalization protocols with Yerevan
under consideration in the Turkish Parliament, Hurriyet added.

Erdogan said, "I’d like to say it would be more accurate to research
genocide claims not at the House of Representatives but at universities
and archives," he said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress