Turkey Angered by US Recognition of 'Armenian Genocide'

World

October 30th, 6:00am

Asharq Al-Awsat

The remains of Armenians killed by Ottoman soldiers. AFP file photo

Turkey on Wednesday rejected the US House of Representatives' official recognition of the "Armenian Genocide", warning it risks harming ties "at an extremely fragile time" for international and regional security. "As a meaningless political step, its sole addressees are the Armenian lobby and anti-Turkey groups," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "We believe that American friends of Turkey who support the continuation of the alliance and friendly relations will question this grave mistake and those who are responsible will be judged by the conscience of the American people," it added. Cheers and applause erupted when the chamber voted 405 to 11 in support of the measure "affirming the United States record on the Armenian Genocide," a first for the US Congress, where similar measures with such direct language have been introduced for decades but never passed. US lawmakers delivered a two-punch rebuke to Turkey on its national day, with the genocide measure passing alongside a bill that imposes sanctions over Ankara's assault on Kurdish-controlled territory in northeastern Syria that was made possible by the withdrawal of American troops. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was honored to join her colleagues "in solemn remembrance of one of the great atrocities of the 20th century: the systematic murder of more than 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children by the Ottoman Empire."

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1968041/turkey-angered-us-recognition-armenian-genocide