U.S. State Department strongly opposes "Armenian genocide" bill

The U.S. continues to believe that the best way for Turkey and Armenia to address their shared past is through their efforts to normalize relations, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said at the daily briefing on Friday.

According to the Anadolu Agency, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi can bring the bill forward within the next 48 hours.

The resolution on so-called "Armenian genocide" was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs on March 4. 23 congressmen voted for the resolution and 22 against it. The vote opened the way for the measure possibly to be considered by the full House.

Armenia claims that the Turkey's predecessor - Ottoman Empire committed "genocide" against Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915.

The Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Friday called U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by phone and asked the United States administration to prevent the discussion of the bill, the agency said citing diplomatic sources.

During the conversation, Clinton said the U.S. administration's position on this issue remained unchanged and it would take every effort to ensure that the document would not come on the agenda of the House of Representatives.

The Turkish embassy in Washington is in close contact with the White House, State Department and U.S. Congress over the possibility of discussing the bill.


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