ANKARA (Today's Zaman)-A veteran US diplomat has said he believes the Armenian Genocide resolution, slated for a vote in the US House Foreign Affairs Commission on March 4, might eventually be adopted by Congress if US President Barack Obama doesn't intervene to prevent it, the Anatolia news agency reported on Sunday.
The remarks by Morton Abramowitz, who served as US ambassador to Ankara during the first Gulf War (1989-1991), came as a tacit signal to the US President that Ankara was seeking his opposition to the bill.
Abramowitz was speaking at a meeting recently hosted by the Istanbul Center and Georgia Tech's Sam Nunn School of International Affairs in Atlanta.
Last month, Rep. Howard Berman, who serves as the Democratic chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said he intended to call a committee vote on the non-binding resolution on March 4. Spearheaded by Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA), George Radanovich (R-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), the Armenian Genocide Resolution calls upon the President to ensure that the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States record relating to the Armenian Genocide.
Anatolia quoted Abramowitz as saying that if President Obama doesn't get involved in the issue, Congress may pass the resolution this year. The diplomats warning was the underlying theme of his message during the meeting. Abramowitz also suggested that the ongoing tension between Israel and Turkey had sparked anger against Turkey amongst the Jewish lobby in the US, which has traditionally been pro-Turkey.
