Turkey warns US over Armenian 'genocide' vote

Turkey warned the Obama administration on Friday of negative diplomatic consequences if it doesn't impede a US resolution branding the World War I-era killing of Armenians genocide.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey, a key Muslim ally of the US, would assess what measures it would take, adding that the issue was a matter of "honor" for his country.

Meanwhile, a senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said there was an understanding with the Democratic leadership in Congress that the resolution would not proceed to a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives.

A US congressional committee approved the measure Thursday. The 23-22 vote would send the measure to the full House of Representatives, if the leadership decided to bring it up. Minutes after the vote, Turkey withdrew its ambassador to the US.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton did not answer a question about the diplomatic fallout Friday.

"The Obama administration strongly opposes the resolution that was passed by only one vote by the House committee and will work very hard to make sure it does not go to the house floor," Clinton told reporters in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

President Barack Obama's administration had been silent about the resolution until shortly before the vote when it said it opposed its passage. Turkey wants stronger action to block the resolution.

"The picture shows that the US administration did not put enough weight behind the issue," Davutoglu told reporters. "We are seriously disturbed by the result."

"We expect the US administration to, as of now, display more effective efforts. Otherwise the picture ahead will not be a positive one," he said. He complained of a lack of "strategic vision" in Washington.

The measure was approved at a time when Washington is expected to press Turkey to back sanctions against Iran to be approved in the UN Security Council, where Turkey currently holds a seat. Turkish cooperation also is important to US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

'Domestic political games'

Also at stake are defense contracts. Turkey is an important market for US defense companies, many of which had lobbied against the measure.

"We have had good cooperation with the US administration at all levels," Davutoglu said. "We would expect our contributions not to be sacrificed to domestic political games."

Davutoglu said the US ambassador had been called to the Foreign Ministry for talks. The ambassador, James Jeffrey, told reporters the Obama administration was opposed to the measure being voted in the full House.

The foreign minister said Turkey was determined to press ahead with efforts to normalize ties with Armenia, but said Turkey would not be "pressured" into taking any decisions.

He added that the vote had put the ratification of agreements to normalize ties with Armenia at risk.

Last year, Turkey and Armenia agreed to normalize ties by establishing diplomatic relations and reopen their shared border, but the agreements have yet to be approved by their parliaments.

Turkey has been dragging its feet, fearful of upsetting ally Azerbaijan, which balks at any suggestion of the reopening of the border until its own dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh is settled. The region in Azerbaijan has been under Armenian control.

Armenian groups have sought congressional affirmation of the killings as genocide for decades and welcomed Thursday's vote.

"The problem that America faces is how to recognize the Armenian genocide without damaging its strategic alliance with Ankara. But at some point, we must adopt moral positions," Mourad Papazian, president of the western European branch of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, told AP Television News in Paris.

He stood in front of a monument overlooking the Seine River to victims of the killings.

"The reaction is unanimous, that is to say that the Armenian residents and the diaspora welcome the decision" by the House foreign affairs committee, he said.

Armenians abroad – estimated at 5.7 million – outnumber the 3.2 million living in Armenia itself, the smallest of the ex-Soviet republics.

In Ankara, dozens of members of a small left-wing party staged a protest near the heavily protected US Embassy, shouting: "Genocide is an American lie!" Police allowed a small group to approach and lay a black wreath at its gates.

The genocide issue is one of many obstacles to Turkey's membership in the European Union. Turkey has been struggling to block similar genocide bills in parliaments across the globe.

The US congressional vote came at a time when relations with the United States – strained by Turkey's refusal to allow its territory to be used for the invasion of Iraq – had recently improved. Turkey was the first Muslim country Obama visited after taking office.