Turkish official: Armenia resolution not to serve Turkish-US interests

Ahead of the March 4 vote in the U.S. House foreign affairs committee regarding a resolution on Armenian allegations related to the incidents of 1915, Turkey expects Obama administration to exert more efforts against the resolution.

A group of Turkish lawmakers arrived in Washington D.C. on Monday to meet with U.S. Congressmen to lobby against the resolution.

Turkish lawmakers led by Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Commission Chairman Murat Mercan voiced their expectations from the U.S. administration at a press conference in Washington D.C..

Mercan said that the resolution would not serve the interests of Turkey and the United States. He said the resolution would harm bilateral relations.

In 2007, the U.S. committee approved a similar resolution 27-21, even though the former U.S. president George W. Bush and other key figures from the U.S. administration lobbied against it.

"National assemblies can never make a decision or a judgement on so-called genocide. This is, of course, a decision that international courts can make," Mercan told reporters.

Another Turkish lawmaker Sukru Elekdag, who is also a former Turkish ambassador to United States, said that U.S. administration should not lose Turkish people's trust.

"What we will tell our interlocutors is 'do not lose this trust'. And this is not an empty talk," Elekdag said.


/World Bulletin/