Novinite.com, Bulgaria
March 6 2010
US White House Set to Block Armenian Genocide Resolution
World | March 6, 2010, Saturday
The Obama US administration will seek to block a controversial bill
that describes as genocide the 1915 killing of Armenians by Turks.
The US Congress Committee had narrowly approved the resolution on
March 4, by 23 to 22 votes. This had paved the way for a possible vote
by the House, something that the administration would seek to prevent.
Turkey reacted strongly to the vote, recalling its Ambassador from
Washignton, and threatening further diplomatic protest. Turkish
citizens took to the streets to voice their anger at the decision.
"We are against this decision. Now we believe that the US Congress
will not take any decision on this subject," Hillary Clinton, the US
Secretary of State, stated on Friday.
During his campaign for the 2008 election, Barack Obama had promised
to brand the mass killings genocide.
However, Clinton has acknowledged his administration’s change of
opinion on the issue, saying that circumstances had "changed in very
significant ways".
Turkey is a major partner in US efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and
Iraq, and lies on a key route taking oil and natural gas to Western
markets.
In October 2009, Turkey and Armenia signed a historic accord
normalising relations between them after a century of hostility, but
successive Turkish governments have refused to accept responsibility
for any suggestion of genocide.