Azernews.Az

The British House of Lords has rejected the proposal on recognizing the alleged Ottoman-era genocide of Armenians and announcing April 24 as the anniversary of the alleged mass killings, without scheduling a vote.
The lawmakers took the step despite calls by pro-Armenian Baroness Caroline Cox, who initiated the debate, to back the proposal, Turkey’s Cihan news agency reported.
Cox had even called on the government to delegate a representative to the event commemorating the "genocide" due in Cardiff, Wales. "Though the government does not pronounce the word ‘genocide’, it would at least diminish the Armenians’ aggravation by sending one minister there."
During the debate in the House of Lords, some speakers opposed Cox’s statement, warning that tabling historical issues in the legislature could be detrimental to Turkey’s relations with both Armenia and Britain. The lawmakers who dismissed the allegations suggested discussing not the "genocide", but the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh.
Addressing the legislature in conclusion, Foreign Office minister Baroness Kinnock said the 1915 events in the Ottoman Empire are deemed a tragedy and that the Armenians’ grief is shared. Kinnock said, however, that London will refrain from issuing statements that could harm the ongoing process of normalizing Turkish-Armenian relations. She added that the Turkish and Armenian presidents support the plan to establish a commission of history experts to research the developments.
Kinnock said that since there is currently no legal body charged with establishing whether or not the events amounted to "genocide", the British government’s branding them as such would be inappropriate. The minister added that London will neither recognize the Armenian "genocide" nor delegate an official to the Cardiff ceremony.
Armenians residing in the Anatolia region fought against the Ottoman army in support of Russia during World War I. 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, while Ankara dismisses the claims and has offered conducting joint historical research.*