ANKARA, Turkey, March 9 (UPI) -- An Armenian genocide resolution headed to the full U.S. House of Representatives lacks the political momentum to pass, a Turkish advocate said.
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs passed a non-binding resolution Thursday by a vote of 23-22 that classifies the 1915 killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire an act of genocide. The measure passed despite a last-ditch plea by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Ankara recalled its ambassador from Washington last week as the resolution made its way for a vote in the full House.
Jim Holmes, the president of the American-Turkish Council, told Turkey's English-language daily newspaper Hurriyet that the measure was likely to stall.
"The resolution has passed the panel vote with the narrowest possible margin and has no political credibility (in Congress)," he said.
Ankara ahead of the Thursday vote warned the genocide label could unsettle bilateral cooperation in the region, including key support from Ankara in the U.S. war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ankara's relationship with Tehran could be a factor as well.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected in Washington in April to attend an international nuclear security summit. He expects to meet with ATC leaders during his visit unless he decides to boycott the Washington summit in protest of the genocide resolution, Hurriyet added.
