ANKARA AWAITS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

United Press International UPI
March 4 2010

WASHINGTON, March 4 (UPI) — Ankara said it would consider pulling its
ambassador from Washington if U.S. lawmakers pass a measure calling
the 1915 atrocities against Armenians genocide.

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs is
considering a non-binding resolution that would classify the 1915
killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire an act of genocide. U.S.

Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., the chairman of the committee, is said
to favor the measure.

Ankara said Thursday it would recall its U.S. ambassador if the
panel passes the measure, Turkey’s English-language daily newspaper
Hurriyet reports.

The passage, the Turkish government said, could unsettle bilateral
cooperation in the region, including key support from Ankara in the
U.S. war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul phoned U.S. President Barack Obama
Wednesday to highlight the seriousness of the issue.

The vote comes ahead of the annual White House statement commemorating
the 1915 atrocities. Obama in 2009 avoided using the term genocide
and Washington has balked on the issue in press statements.

Ankara said Washington should not risk its strategic interests in
the region by letting the resolution pass.

Ankara recalled its ambassador to Washington in 2007 when the Foreign
Affairs Committee passed a similar measure.

The Armenian diaspora in the United States has urged the U.S.

government to formally take a strong stance on the issue.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress