USA: A U.S. House committee approves a resolution calling the 1915 massacres of Armenians genocide

Record ID: 328863

  • Title: USA: A U.S. House committee approves a resolution calling the 1915 massacres of Armenians genocide
  • Date: 11th October 2007
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 10, 2007) (REUTERS) EXTERIORS OF CAPITOL HILL
  • Embargoed: 26th October 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: International Relations,History
  • Reuters ID: LVA1P17CW4U6IGQBD6TQFKSGF647
  • Story Text: A U.S. House committee approves a resolution calling the 1915 massacres of Armenians genocide, brushing aside White House warnings that it would do "great harm" to ties with NATO ally Turkey, a key supporter in the Iraq war.
    A U.S. House committee approved a resolution calling the 1915 massacres of Armenians genocide on Wednesday (October 10), brushing aside White House warnings that it would do "great harm" to ties with NATO ally Turkey, a key supporter in the Iraq war.
    The House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee approved the resolution 27-21. It now goes to the House floor, where Democratic leaders say there will be a vote by mid-November. There is a companion bill in the Senate, but both measures are strictly symbolic, and do not require the president's signature.
    Turkey calls the resolution an insult and rejects the Armenian position, backed by many Western historians, that up to 1.5 million Armenians suffered genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks during World War One. Turkey has warned of damage to bilateral ties if Congress passes the measure.
    Earlier, U.S. President George W. Bush urged U.S. lawmakers to reject a congressional resolution calling the 1915 massacres of Armenians genocide, saying it would do "great harm" to U.S. relations with Turkey.

    "This resolution is not the right response to these historic killings," Bush told reporters at the White House.
    American military officers in Iraq and Afghanistan are concerned that if the genocide resolution were to pass in the Congress, Ankara might become less cooperative in hosting support services for the U.S. troop presence in the region. Nearly one-third of fuel supplies for the troops are funneled through Turkish territory.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register