Turkey warns US bill could harm efforts to improve ties with Armenia

Babacan said Turkey and Armenia are already discussing the 1915 incidents and "steps that could be taken by third countries on the issue would not bring any good but harm this process".

 

"We hope parliamentarians, parliaments become aware of this process and act responsibly," he was quoted by AP as telling at a joint press conference with his Philippine counterpart Alberto Romulo.

 

U.S. lawmakers introduced Tuesday a resolution recognizing the Armenian claims regarding the 1915 incidents. The resolution, titled "The Affirmation of the U.S. Record on the Armenian Genocide", has the support of 77 co-sponsors from both parties in the House of Representatives.

 

It calls on the president to "ensure that the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding" of the "Armenian Genocide" and to "accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide," PanArmenian Network reported in its website.

 

It was unclear whether the resolution has sufficient support to pass in the House of Representatives, the Associated Press (AP) reported late on Tuesday.

 

Lawmakers almost passed a similar resolution two years ago, but congressional leaders did not bring it up for a vote after intense pressure from then-President George W. Bush and top members of his administration.

 

Armenia, with the backing of the diaspora, claims up to 1.5 million of their kin were slaughtered in orchestrated killings in 1915.

 

Turkey rejects the claims saying that 300,000 Armenians, along with at least as many Turks, died in civil strife that emerged when Armenians took up arms, backed by Russia, for independence in eastern Anatolia.

 

Turkey has offered to form a joint commission to investigate what happened in 1915 and opened up all official archives, but Armenia has continued to drag its feet on accepting the offer.Â

 

OBAMA’S POSITION UNCERTAIN

Turkey earlier warned that such legislation could harm Turkey-U.S. relations as well as the normalization process between Ankara and Yerevan.

 

The legislation comes as bilateral relations are set to enter a busy period due to the key policy changes that the new administration plans to make in the Middle East. President Barack Obama is due to visit Turkey in early April.

 

It is unclear whether Obama extend his backing to the resolution or not, AP reported. Obama is unlikely to recognize the claims, recent media reports suggest, despite pledges made during his presidential campaigning.

 

Turkey plays a key role as the new administration prepares to withdraw its troops from Iraq, to boost troops in Afghanistan and to seek peace in the Middle East.