Azernews.Az

A US congressional panel on Thursday approved a bill branding the alleged 1915 killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey as "genocide", despite vehement protests by Ankara.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee endorsed the resolution with a 23-22 vote, even though the Obama administration had urged Congress not to offend Turkey by approving it. The approval of the bill is not final and it now goes to the 435-member House, where prospects for passage are uncertain, Associated Press reported.
Minutes after the vote, Turkey said it was recalling its ambassador from Washington for consultations.
Earlier, in 2007, a "genocide" bill was approved by the Foreign Affairs Committee but the legislation did not receive sufficient backing for its submission to the full House.
The bill suggests that US President Barack Obama call on the American people to mourn the victims of the alleged genocide on April 24, the date considered by Armenians to be the anniversary of the alleged mass killings.
Obama pledged to millions of US Armenians while campaigning for the 2008 presidential election that he would recognize the "genocide". Thus, he is considered the president who has come the closest to recognizing the Armenian claims.
Turkey was quick to respond to the Congressional committee move. Ankara, a NATO ally with a pivotal role for US interests in the Middle East and Afghanistan, warned that the resolution could jeopardize U.S-Turkish cooperation and set back negotiations aimed at opening the border between Turkey and Armenia. Turkish President Abdullah Gul condemned the passage of the bill, saying "Turkey will not be responsible for any adverse consequences of the vote."
Analysts say Turkey could retaliate by freezing the process of approving the 2009 accords on normalizing its strained relations with Yerevan. Also, Ankara is expected to revisit its alliance with the White House on such key issues as Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, the Middle East and nuclear security.
Hours before the vote, White House spokesman Mike Hammer said in a statement that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had spoken with the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Democratic Rep. Howard Berman, and indicated that "further Congressional action could impede progress on normalization of relations" between Turkey and Armenia, AP reported.
Still, Berman on Thursday urged fellow members of the committee to pass the resolution.
"The Turks say passing this resolution could have terrible consequences for our bilateral relationship, and indeed perhaps there will be some consequences," Berman said. "But I believe that Turkey values its relations
with the United States at least as much as we value our relations with Turkey."
Hammer said Obama called Turkey's president on Wednesday to express his appreciation for Turkey's efforts to normalize relations with Armenia. Obama urged Turkey to rapidly ratify the 2009 reconciliation deal signed with Armenia.
The Turkish and Armenian governments signed two protocols to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their sealed borders in October 2009, in a bid to begin reconciling the two neighbors estranged due to Armenia's occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan, Turkey’s ally, and Yerevan’s "genocide" claims. The deal must be approved by the Turkish parliament, and Turkish lawmakers have warned that the committee's vote could stall progress. Also, Turkish officials have repeatedly stated that Ankara could mend ties with Yerevan only after the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh has been fairly resolved.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs suggested the administration was trying to buy time for Turkey's parliament to act.
"Our focus is on continuing to make progress on an issue that has, for almost 100 years, divided two countries," Gibbs said. "Through some very tough diplomatic work by Secretary Clinton, we've made progress. We're on the cusp of normalization."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she will wait to see the result of the committee vote before deciding whether to bring it up for a vote.
Armenian American groups have for decades sought congressional affirmation of the alleged killings as genocide. Armenians claim that 1.5 million of their descendants died at the hands of Ottoman Turks during World War I, and their lobby has even achieved recognition of the alleged genocide in several countries’ parliaments.
Armenians residing in the Anatolia region started riots in 1890, which intensified during the war, and fought against the Ottoman army in support of Russia. In an effort to end the stand-off, the Ottoman government decided to resettle the Armenians to other parts of the country in 1915. Armenians claim their forefathers were subjected to "genocide" in the process. Ankara dismisses the claims and has offered to research the events through a joint commission of historians.
In April, Obama failed to brand the alleged killings "genocide" in an annual White House statement. Obama said that while he had not changed his personal views, he did not want to upset promising talks between Turkey and Armenia on improving relations and opening their border. Turkey sealed the border in 1993.
Prior to the discussions, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, speaking at a press conference on Thursday, urged the U.S. not to risk the progress made in mending the Turkish-Armenian relations while considering the issue.
"The United States now has two options: to negate all the progress made in the relations between Turkey and Armenia and in the entire South Caucasus, or to continue promoting the peace process in the region, said Davutoglu. "We think they will choose the second option."
The Turkish minister made clear that Ankara will not allow to be pressured. "Trying to put pressure on us at the same time every year means failing to reckon with Turkey," he said.
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made clear in December, after his official visit to Moscow, that the reconciliation process is directly linked to the settlement of the Garabagh conflict, despite some arguments that the Turkish-Armenian relations should be viewed separately from the Garabagh issue.*