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Turkey Summons US Envoy On Genocide Vote

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  • Turkey Summons US Envoy On Genocide Vote

    TURKEY SUMMONS US ENVOY ON GENOCIDE VOTE
    By Delphine Strauss

    FT
    March 5 2010 13:19

    The US ambassador to Turkey was summoned to the foreign ministry on
    Friday after a congressional panel approved describing the Ottoman-era
    massacres of Armenians as genocide.

    The non-binding resolution, passed in the foreign affairs committee on
    Thursday by 23 votes to 22, will test US-Turkish relations at a time
    when Washington is already at odds with Ankara - a Nato member and
    crucial ally in the region - over its drive for sanctions against Iran.

    EDITOR'S CHOICE Turkey recalls ambassador over US vote - Mar-05Vote
    undermines Obama's Turkey strategy - Mar-05Analysis: Turkey - At
    the garrison's gate - Mar-03US turns screw on Ankara over sanctions
    - Feb-24US foreign policy has not made breakthroughs - Feb-07The
    Turkish government, which has long warned that such a vote would harm
    bilateral relations, has recalled its ambassador from Washington for
    consultations, complaining that a last-minute plea by Hillary Clinton,
    secretary of state, to stop the resolution was not forceful enough.

    "We expect a more effective policy from the administration," Ahmet
    Davutoglu, foreign minister, said on Friday, adding that Washington
    had displayed "a lack of strategic vision".

    He also said the vote could harm ongoing Turkish and Armenian efforts
    at reconciliation, as Turkey "never took decisions under pressure".

    The Turkish cabinet is set to assess the situation on Monday after
    consultations with Namik Tan, the ambassador who will fly back from
    Washington on Friday, Mr Davutoglu said.

    Similar resolutions have passed a committee vote before without
    ever being put to a full vote on the floor of Congress, and the US
    administration is signalling the pattern may be repeated.

    "We understand that there will be no decision in full Congress. We
    are against any new Congress decision," Jim Jeffrey, US ambassador,
    told reporters as he left the ministry in Ankara on Friday.

    "I do not think it is for any other country to determine how two
    countries resolve matters between them," Mrs Clinton said during a
    Latin American tour on Thursday. "We do not believe that any action
    by the Congress is appropriate and we oppose it." She added that
    the administration did not believe the full House "will or should"
    vote on the resolution.

    However, Turkey's tough reaction reflects the difficulty it already
    faces in salvaging an agreement with Armenia, signed last year after
    mediation by Mrs Clinton, setting a timetable to restore diplomatic
    ties and open their shared border.

    There is fierce public opposition to the agreement in both countries,
    and Ankara is refusing to ratify the protocols without progress in
    the separate and intractable dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan
    over Armenian occupation of the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabagh.

    "Turkey will not be responsible for the negative results that may
    stem from this vote in every area," Abdullah Gul, president, said in
    a statement. Mr Davutoglu said it was too early to talk about specific
    measures in retaliation against the vote.

    Turkey denies the 1915 killings of some 1.5m Armenians constituted
    genocide, saying many Turks also died in the chaos that engulfed the
    disintegrating Ottoman empire, and that the interpretation of events
    should be left to an international committee of historians.

    Both the genocide debate and Nagorno-Karabakh stir nationalist
    sensitivities in Turkey, where anti-US feeling runs high.

    Analysts think the chances of the resolution reaching a vote on the
    floor of Congress are still weak. Atilla Yesilada, of the consultancy
    Global Source, warned that if it did proceed, the ruling Ak Party
    "simply can't look weak in the face of such a great insult", as it
    risked losing votes to nationalists before a possible referendum and
    elections due in 2011.

    The Armenian National Committee of America hailed the vote but said
    the real test was a full House vote.
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