Ankara watching U.S. measure on Armenia

ANKARA, Turkey, March 3 (UPI) -- Turkish leaders said they hope U.S. lawmakers will use common sense when considering a resolution on atrocities committed against Armenians.

U.S. Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., is backing a resolution on its way to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs that would classify atrocities committed against the Armenia population under Ottoman rule in 1915 as genocide.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he hoped Washington wouldn't undermine regional relations and pass the measure, Turkey's English-language daily newspaper Hurriyet reports.

"I trust the leadership and common sense of (U.S. President Barack) Obama, who is closely following the ongoing normalization efforts with Armenia," he said.

Ankara says Armenia is illegally occupying the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is also claimed by Azerbaijan. Turkey closed its border to Armenia because of a 1993 invasion of the territory.

Ankara expressed hope the U.S. congressional resolution wouldn't pass, fearing pressure over normalization protocols with Yerevan under consideration in the Turkish Parliament, Hurriyet added.

Erdogan said, "I'd like to say it would be more accurate to research genocide claims not at the House of Representatives but at universities and archives," he said.