Boehner assures Turks that bill will not pass recognising Armenian Genocide

By Asbarez | Tuesday, 15 April 2014

Speaker Boehner meets with Cicek in Ankara

ANKARA—The Speaker of House John Boehner paid a surprise visit to the Turkish capital Tuesday and assured Turkish leaders that Congress has no intentions of passing a pending resolution urging Turkey to recognise the Armenian Genocide.

According to Today’s Zaman, while in Turkey, Boehner met with Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek.

“The issue about Armenians comes up from time to time, but don’t worry! Our Congress will not get involved in this issue. We don’t write history, we are not historians,” Boehner told reporters after his meeting with Cemil Cicek, reported Hurriyet Daily News.

Boehner said bilateral ties between the two countries should be enhanced, and that the U.S. was grateful for Turkey’s support on issues in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, adding that further cooperation between the two countries could still be developed in trade

Cicek described the Armenia issue as defamation against Turkey as well as a major burden in US-Turkey relations. He also claimed that Turkey is ready to face its history, yet if legislatures make decisions on historical issues, it may hamper bilateral relations between the countries involved.

On April 10th, the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, in a vote of 12-5, adopted a resolution calling on Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide.


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