U.S. SEEKS TO DEFUSE ROW ON ARMENIA GENOCIDE BILL

Montreal Gazette
March 4 2010

ReutersMarch 4, 2010 1:03 PM WASHINGTON – The United States has moved
to defuse a dispute with Turkey by telling a top U.S. lawmaker that
congressional action to label a 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman
forces as genocide could harm efforts to normalize Turkish-Armenian
relations, a U.S. official said Thursday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said U.S. Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton made the point in a call to House Foreign
Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman on Wednesday. He also said
U.S. President Barack Obama called Turkish President Abdullah Gul to
urge quick ratification of a protocol to normalize relations between
Turkey and Armenia.