Turkey urges US to block ´genocide´ bill

Turkey recalled its ambassador from Washington immediately after the committee passed the non-binding resolution on Thursday.

ANKARA, March 5, 2010 (AFP) - Turkey on Friday reacted with fury to a US Congress panel's resolution calling the Ottoman-era massacre of Armenians "genocide" warning of damage to US ties and efforts to reconcile with Armenia.

Turkey has already recalled its ambassador and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called on President Barack Obama's administration to block the resolution. He said it should have done more to stop it being passed by the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.

The US administration "did not put enough weight" behind efforts to prevent the resolution and Ankara was "seriously disturbed", the minister said.

"We expect the US administration to make more efficient efforts from now on" to stop the resolution from advancing to a full House vote, he said.

"We hope Turkish-US ties will not be put to a new test ... otherwise, the prospect that we will face will not be a positive one," he said.

Turkey recalled its ambassador from Washington immediately after the committee passed the non-binding resolution on Thursday by a slim 23-22 margin, ignoring the pressure from Turkey and the White House.

Davutoglu declined to elaborate what action Turkey, a long-time NATO ally, would consider if the text was put to a vote at the full House.

Turkey is a prominent Muslim partner of Washington in efforts to stabilise Afghanistan and Iraq. It is also a key part of the route taking oil and natural gas to Western markets.

The US resolution raised the "the risk of stopping" fledgling bridge-building efforts with Armenia, Davutoglu said, stressing that Turkey was rejecting pressure to ratify a troubled peace deal with its eastern neighbour.

"We are determined to normalise Turkish-Armenian ties but we are against this being secured through the intervention of third parties and through pressure," he said.

President Abdullah Gul warned Thursday that "Turkey will not be responsible for the negative ramifications this vote may have in every field."

The non-binding resolution calls on Obama to ensure that US foreign policy reflects an understanding of the "genocide" and to label the mass killings as such in his annual statement on the issue.

Following US-backed talks to end decades of hostility, Turkey and Armenia signed a deal in October to establish diplomatic relations and open their border.

But the process has already hit obstacles, with Ankara accusing Yerevan of trying to tweak the terms of the deal and Yerevan charging that Ankara is not committed to ratifying the accord.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million people were killed during World War I by their Ottoman rulers as the empire was falling apart, a claim supported by several other countries.

Turkey argues 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in what was a civil strife when Armenians rose up for independence and sided with invading Russian troops.

The United States has traditionally condemned the 1915-1918 killings, but refrained from calling them a "genocide," anxious not to strain relations with Turkey.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had urged the committee not to hold the vote for fear it might harm Armenia-Turkey reconciliation moves and said she hoped the bid would progress no further.

"We do not believe the full Congress will or should act on that resolution," Clinton told reporters while on a visit to Costa Rica.

Obama pledged during his election campaign to recognise the massacres as genocide, but has so far refrained from using the term.

During a visit to Turkey in April, Obama said he retained his view that the killings amounted to genocide but stressed that reconciliation between the two neighbours was more important.