Tag: Armenia

  • When Armenia Occupied Azerbaijani Lands Josep Borrell Was Very Silent…

    When Armenia Occupied Azerbaijani Lands Josep Borrell Was Very Silent…

    By Azer HASRET

    During his press remarks after the Foreign Affairs Council the High Representative on Foreign Affairs of the European Union Josep Borrell voiced baseless and unjustified claims regarding Azerbaijan. He noted that Azerbaijan has territorial claims against Armenia. He had even stressed that the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev voiced these claims.

    To see the issue deeper let’s read through what was said by Mr. Borrell on Jan 22, 2024, during his press remarks.

    “…we agreed that Azerbaijan needs to return to substantive peace and normalization talks with Armenia. The latest territorial claims by President [of Azerbaijan, Ilham] Aliyev are very concerning. And any violation of Armenia’s territorial integrity will be unacceptable and will have severe consequences for our relations with Azerbaijan.”

    As is seen Mr. Borrell is talking about President Aliyev’s territorial claims against Armenia. But as a citizen of Azerbaijan, plus as a person closely following political developments not only within, but outside of Azerbaijan I can strongly oppose these claims by Mr. Borrell and assure that President Aliyev never voiced territorial claims against Armenia. What I know the President continuously states that Azerbaijan has no intention to occupy any piece of territory of any other country including Armenia.

    This is obvious and even Mr. Borrell has an opportunity to contact Mr. Aliyev and ask him if he has territorial claims against Armenia. But as we see Mr. Borrell didn’t dare to do this and check the truthfulness of the claims spread by some propaganda centers. He made himself a tool of propaganda for those centers. Unfortunately…

    Now we’ll see which country has the territorial claims against its neighbor. That is Armenia, not Azerbaijan having territorial claims. And we have quite enough evidence to prove this.

    Let’s read through The Constitution of Armenia. Just in its Preamble, we can see that Armenia has territorial claims against Azerbaijan! And this is the major soul of that Constitution thus making this country an aggressor.

    To see the details let’s read through the mentioned Preamble:

    “The Armenian People, accepting as a basis the fundamental principles of Armenian statehood and pan-national aspirations enshrined in the Declaration on the Independence of Armenia, having fulfilled the sacred behest of its freedom-loving ancestors to restore the sovereign state, dedicated to the strengthening and prosperity of the fatherland, with the aim of ensuring the freedom, general well-being, and civic solidarity of the generations, and affirming its commitment to universal values, adopts the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia”.

    One who doesn’t know the issue well would say that where is the territorial claim here? We’ll explain.

    The Preamble is quoting The Declaration on the Independence of Armenia. And very this document openly expresses territorial claims against Azerbaijan!

    Let’s see this time the mentioned Declaration:

    “The Supreme Council of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic

    Expressing the united will of the Armenian people;

    …Based on the December 1, 1989, joint decision of the Armenian SSR Supreme Council and the Artsakh National Council on the “Reunification of the Armenian SSR and the Mountainous Region of Karabakh”;..

    Declares

    The beginning of the process of establishing of independent statehood positioning the question of the creation of a democratic society based on the rule of law;..”

    This Declaration was adopted on August 23, 1990, and is taken as a basis for The Constitution of Armenia. Mr. Borrell before accusing Azerbaijan of territorial claims against Armenia could look through this Constitution and see the real territorial claimers…

    And this is not even the last evidence showing Armenia’s territorial claims against its neighbors. The Constitution of Armenia has one more piece of evidence, this time against Türkiye.

    Let’s see again The Constitution:

    Article 21. The Symbols of the Republic of Armenia

    …The coat of arms of the Republic of Armenia shall depict, in the center on a shield, Mount Ararat with Noah’s ark and the coats of arms of the four kingdoms of historical Armenia…

    Thus, once again a person with no imagination about the region would see nothing here. But if look deeper one can see that Armenia has territorial claims against Türkiye. As we know the mount which Armenia calls “Ararat” is a Mount Aghri based in the territory of Türkiye. Why would a country depict a natural object of another country on its national symbol? Where is the logic?

    This is one more piece of evidence proving that Armenia has territorial claims against at least two of its neighbors: Azerbaijan and Türkiye. But Mr. Borrell is accusing Azerbaijan of “having territorial claims against Armenia”…

    Going through this evidence we can once more see that the EU High Representative Josep Borrell is voluntarily acting as part of the Armenian propaganda machine. But we here in Azerbaijan and other countries of the region were seeing the European Union and its representatives as those who could guarantee more freedom, justice, and well-being for our people…

    P.S. Armenia kept under its occupation about 20 percent of the territory of Azerbaijan for more than 28 years. This very Mr. Borrell never talked about Armenia’s obvious occupation while the evidence was very clear. But now he is accusing Azerbaijan for having territorial claims against Azerbaijan while he has no single evidence to prove this…

  • U.S. Religious Freedom report… compiled by Armenia…

    U.S. Religious Freedom report… compiled by Armenia…

    By Azer HASRET

    “The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad.”

    This is stated by the mentioned Commission on its “Annual Report of The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom”. This means that the Commission is independent of any outside influence.

    Is it?

    We’ll see…

    Recently The Commission has announced its 2023 report where Azerbaijan among other several Turkic and Muslim countries is accused of “suppressing the religious freedoms”. All Turkic countries – Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Türkiye and Turkmenistan – except Kyrgyzstan are those which is seen by this very Commission as “a perpetrator of religious freedoms”.

    According to this report’s Azerbaijan chapter (just 2 pages) this country is in a very disturbing position and must be included “on the State Department’s Special Watch List” for violating religious freedoms…

    religious

    Now let’s see some citations from the Report:

    1. “This report provides an update on religious freedom conditions in Azerbaijan in 2023. It describes the legislative framework that facilitates the official regulation of religious practice, concerns for religious sites in Nagorno-Karabakh, the ongoing repression of Shi’a Muslim religious activists, and the impact of the government’s refusal to allow conscientious objection.”

    “Concerns for religious sites in Nagorno-Karabakh”. One must think that the Report is overseeing the destruction of more than 60 Mosques in Karabakh during its occupation by Armenia. Yes, even all Mosques in Karabakh and other occupied lands of Azerbaijan were wiped off by Armenia. But no single word about this in the Report!

    Plus, we must add that there is no territorial entity within Azerbaijan called “Nagorno-Karabakh”. Seems the compliers of the Report are using occupant Armenia’s terminology while talking about Azerbaijan…

    While talking about “the ongoing repression of Shi’a Muslim religious activists” The Commission forgets about the realities of our region. Those so-called “repressed Shi’a Muslims”, who are defended by the US Government are mostly the followers of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. This General was eliminated on Jan 3, 2020, by the US drones in Baghdad, Iraq as a terrorist. And those so-called Shi’a Muslims “repressed by Azerbaijan” are mostly the supporters and followers of this very terrorist! So, the U.S. must decide and rethink if this very country has killed Qasem Soleimani by mistake…

    2. “The law also prohibits non-Azerbaijani citizens from engaging in “religious propaganda” or missionary activity without explicit state permission.”

    What is strange here? Why Azerbaijan must be accused of preventing its citizens from the religious propaganda? People, even foreigners are free to practice their religion. But religious propaganda by foreigners is and must be prevented!

    3. “In May 2023, the chairman of the SCWRA Mubariz Gurbanli explicitly called for Armenian priests to abandon the Dadivank Monastery in the Kalbajar region as he falsely claimed that they had no connection to the site. While a United Nations mission to Nagorno-Karabakh completed in October 2023 reported that it “saw no damage…to cultural or religious structures”, human rights organizations continued to urge the government to ensure protections for religious and cultural sites and rights.”

    I would say that No Comment! But The Commission needs a bit explanation and enlightenment. The Monastery which they claim to be called as “Dadivank” is Khudaveng Monastery and has nothing to do with Armenians. It was built by Albanian Christians and is under state protection of Azerbaijan. But as other religious sites it was occupied by Armenia and then renovated a bit to prove that it is “an ancient Armenian Monastery”. Even the UN mission also stated that no damage “to cultural and religious structures”.

    4. “The government has particularly targeted the unregistered Muslim Unity Movement (Müsəlman Birliyi Hərəkatı) or MUM, a group that has criticized the government’s repressive policies toward religion and whose persecution many human rights defenders believe to be politically motivated.”

    This so-called Muslim Movement is that very organization which supports Qasem Soleimani and Iran’s clerical regime. These people hate the U.S. and other major Western democracies and want to overthrow the government in Azerbaijan… in order to establish a new one which would support such terrorist organizations like HAMAS, Hezbollah…

    5. “The United States should pressure Azerbaijan to address its severe violations of religious freedom and place the country on the State Department’s Special Watch List until the Azerbaijani government amends its 2009 law “On Freedom of Religious Beliefs” in line with international human rights standards and ceases other policies and practices that routinely infringe upon its citizens’ freedom of religion or belief.”

    I’d ask, are you serious? Do you really think that Azerbaijan must be included in this List just only for preventing the country and its people from the so-called religious interference of the terror-sponsor state – Iran? What is the connection between Iran and The U.S. Commission which compiles such reports?

    Maybe there is someone in The Commission who has the ties with Iran or its close allies?

    Yes, there is someone called Danielle Saroyan Ashbahian, who is a Chief of Public Affairs at The Commission. If review her social media accounts, one easily can see that she is an active member of Armenian propaganda against Turks – Azerbaijan and Türkiye! But she must be neutral person, isn’t it?

    This very Danielle worked for the Armenian Assembly of America before joining The Commission dealing with the religious issues throughout the world…

    “Danielle Saroyan Ashbahian is the Chief of Public Affairs at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, overseeing the Communications and Congressional Relations. Before joining USCIRF, she was the Director of Communications at the Armenian Assembly of America. Prior to that, she was the Layout Editor at the Public Diplomacy Magazine and worked at the Los Angeles Consular Corps. She has had previous experience at the office of former U.S. Congresswoman Janice Hahn, the United Nations Department of Public Information in Armenia, the Lebanese Consulate in Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Ethics Commission” reads The Commission’s web site…

    One more important point: The Commission is trying to support its claims against Azerbaijan siting so-called “Caucasus Heritage Watch”, a pro-Armenian entity launched in 2020 by Armenians, supported by Armenian organizations…

    Just again, No Comment!

    BTW, there is no report on Armenia at all! We’ll remind The Commission that for example the Jewish Synagogue was set to fire in Yerevan in 2023. Or all Muslims are religiously cleansed from Armenia! And Armenia is one of the very few countries of the world denying multiculturalism and having even 98 percent of population of Armenian ethnic background…

  • ARMENIA?

    ARMENIA?

    From: Yahoo [rdegraff@yahoo.com]
    I did some research on Armenia

    IN GOD WE TRUST !!!
    Richard C De Graff

     

    ARMENIA?

    I am getting sick and tired hearing about the so called Armenia genocide by the Turks of the crumbling Ottoman Empire in 1915.

    First, dear reader, I am an American through and through. My family escaped from the French Huguenots and migrated to Holland. After being in Holland for several decades they migrated to the Americas and Jeremiah, Isaac and Frederick De Graff founded Amsterdam NY. In1630.  My son David has the deed signed by King George of England declaring “all the land they could protect”.

    Secondly I never heard of Armenia until after 1975. I thought it was something one added to their garden salad until I had dinner at my secretary’s home with her husband and they told about the “Genocide by the Turks”.

    Strange, why was I hearing about it after 50 odd years after it supposedly happened?

    General Dwight David Eisenhower has film taken of Nazi Germany’s concentration camps “so some dumb bastard could not say it never happened 50 years from now.”

    Well some not so clever Armenians saw how Jewish Germans survived WW ll and could prove the NAZI’s stole their property- the received repatriation in German Marks.

    So these Armenians tried to tie up the Republic of Turkey. They got a lot of publicity for their nefarious efforts, but the history is all wrong.

    I have done research on this subject.  The first book was written in 1982 and published in 1983.

    It is THE ARMENIAN FILE The Myth of Innocence Exposed by Kamuran Gurun. This is a heavy duty book written for Turkish people who have a keen interest in their rightful history. It is like Robert Caro’s books on Lyndon Baines Johnson a former President of the United States; it is also heavy duty reading for a foreigner.

    The other book is a shocker of the surprised truth. Hovhannes Katchaznouni (The First Prime Minister of the Independent Armenian Republic) DASHNAGTZZOUTIUN HAS NOTHING TO DO ANYMORE (Report Submitted to the 1923 Party Convention)

    Katchaznouni became a member of the Armenian National Council in 1917 and was the Gashnag representative until 1018.He served on the Armenian committee conducting peace talks with the Turks in Trabzon and Batoun. He then became the first prime-minister of the independent Armenian State in 1918. He held that position until August 1919. He was arrested after the Bolsheviks came into power in 1920. He left the country after the counter-revolutionary revolt against the Bolsheviks rule was extinguished in 1921.

    OTTOMAN EMPIRE

    1299-1923

    The Ottoman Empire was unique to say the least. It covered Asia minor with Constantinople as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, the Ottoman Empire was at the center of interactions between the Eastern and Western worlds for six centuries. Following a long period of military setbacks against European powers, the Ottoman Empire gradually declined into the late nineteenth century. The empire allied with Germany in the early 20th century, with the imperial ambition of recovering its lost territories, but it collapsed and was dissolved by the Allied Powers in the aftermath of World War I. [i]

    They had some basic rules that apply to Armenia problem.

    Religion was a basic tenant of the empire. They had freedom of religion as long as you obeyed their laws. Turkey is rich with religious history. The first seven churches that the apostle John wrote about are in Turkey. The Muslims are Sunni and Jesus mother retired there too. When the Holy Roman Empire broke up the Greek Orthodox Church was headquartered in Constantinople.

    Missionaries were enthusiastically welcomed from all kinds of religious sects.

    The Trojan War took there.

    By 1914 there were Turkish Armenians living in Turkey as Turkish citizens.

    Question? Why would Turkey commit genocide on the Armenians when 6.9% of their population is Armenian? Something is fishy here.

    WW l

    Now here is the problem. The Ottoman Empire is in its death throes and it takes side with Germany. It seems a natural because Germany is strong, Russia weak and the Allies are causing them a bundle of problems.

    The Tsar of Russia has just recently annexed Georgia in 1801to its sphere of influence. (A stepping stone towards the Black Sea?) What Russia wanted was a warm water ports for its Navy and has its eyes on Constantinople straights and easy entry into the Mediterranean Sea. (It still does.)  The areas if influences in Turkey in 1914-15 are Russia, Germany, France, Italy, USA, and the British!

    So the Armenians side up to Tsarist Russia basically because the Ottomans are in shambles.

    This is one of worst decisions world history. The Russian Revolution broke out in 1917 and the Bolsheviks took over.

    Off with their heads. The Tsarist dynasty is no more. History has now shown us that communist dictators liquidate the opposition. Russia did such a good job that when Hitler started to take on Russia, the only competent General officer was General Zhukov from Vladivostok which is the farthest western city in Russia.( It borders China and North Korea.) He was so far away that Stalin probably thought he was harmless. He is now considered one of Russia’s greatest generals.

    I make this point because Tsarist Russia or the Communist had no use for the Armenians so the smart ones were disposed of. (Modern day language calls it the “brain drain”) I can imagine how eager the communist were dreaming of straights of the Dardanelles and Constantinople were part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic.

    The dates are important here. The Armenian File was published in 1983. So what happened in the 1920s?

    But the Tip-off is Katchaznouni’s Report made in 1923. The Russians suppressed the report and it was not until April 2006 that the first edition of the COMPLETE report was published. There is now a third printing.

    I believe the genocide is a major con job just to gain funds by politicians who have failed to bring prosperity to their constituents.

    On May 19, 1919 Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) landed in Samsun and the National Struggle started and would not end until 1923 after he had defeated all countries that want to break up Turkey. His defeat of the British and his leadership role of modern Turkey make him one of the greatest world leaders of the 20th century.

     

    [i]Wikipedia-Ottoman Empire

     

  • AZERBAIJAN FILES : Resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh Conflict Must be Based on the Rule of Legal Principles

    AZERBAIJAN FILES : Resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh Conflict Must be Based on the Rule of Legal Principles

    image001 19

    Despite the extensive evolution of the international relations, political theorists continue to refer to it as jungle where everybody is against everybody, in order to highlight its distinctive peculiarities. Whereas today the goal of existing mechanisms founded on legal norms and principles is to ensure peaceful coexistence and mitigation of threats to peace and security.

    This requires common vision and methods. Otherwise, there would be more exceptions, questioning the existence of the general rules. This would be the pathway to jungle. Therefore, any given conflict or contentious situation must be assessed based on legal framework regardless of political positions or views. Only that could warrant lasting peace.

    The OSCE Minsk Group, established in 1992, is mandated with the resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh conflict. More than 20 years later, this body still struggles to report any progress. The worst part is that the Minsk Group has done nothing practical for identifying the substance of the conflict and shaping common position underpinned by the principles of the international law. Co-chairs have tried to isolate the peace process from other international organizations and relegated the norms of the international law. This in turn has decelerated the resolution of the problem.

    Co-chairs need to acknowledge that as Armenia enjoys impunity for the act of aggression it perpetrated, it would never agree to any compromises for the sake of peace. Compromised peace is based on mutual concessions enabling the parties to yield the benefits of the concord and constitutes legally sound resolution that implies granting high autonomy to the Nagorno Karabakh within the framework of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

    Adoption of documents by the international and regional organizations, including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation that condemn the facts of aggression and occupation contravening the international law are very important steps. They oblige the Armenian leadership to be more responsible, give up the aggression and seek compromised peace. In this regard, the Co-chairs must be guided by the documents adopted by the international organizations, including the verdict of the European Court of Human Rights on “Chiragov and Others v. Armenia” case in order to evaluate the situation objectively and produce own position on the essence of the conflict and Armenia’s aggression.

    It is worth mentioning that back in 1993, Mario Rafaelli – one of the Co-chairs of the Minsk Group – recognized the Armenian deception and condemned the occupation of Azerbaijan’s territory in the report he had produced. Today the course of the events requires the Co-chairs to be unwavering. Regrettably, instead of welcoming the contribution by international and regional organization serving the common cause they issue a statement urging PACE to refrain from discussing the documents pertaining to Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The very statement defies logic. Apparently, deliberately or not, the Co-chairs demonstrate indifference to principles that firmly reject the policy of aggression and occupation, thus undermining the foundation of a mechanism that politicians of the world so tirelessly worked to build in 20th century.

    Was not the fight against aggression and territorial occupation a key value the countries of the world rallied around? Had not the international community denounce the situations resulted by the use of military force? These are important questions for the Co-chairs to address.

    On the other hand, they need to exercise extra caution while interpreting the principles related to this conflict. How can the same principles and norms be misinterpreted? This is obvious when it comes to definition of territorial integrity and right to self-determination. The hierarchy of norms and the legal pyramid rests upon the application of commonality of the norms. For example, if once the territorial claims were perfectly legitimate, the territorial integrity became a fundamental principle of the international law overriding it and constituting a major pre-condition for sovereign development of the nations and peaceful coexistence.

    Its unanimous recognition by the international community is beyond doubt. Otherwise, there would be no point of safeguarding of international peace and security. The UN Security Council resolutions constantly underscore the territorial integrity of the countries and emphasize the degree of its significance. No international organization is willing to turn a blind eye on this issue because the consequences could be dire. It could be detrimental for the international law that took so many years to establish and shake the pillars of the Westphalia system that is at the heart of the present world order.

    The right to self-determination is characterized by more subjective factors and often highlighted in line with narrow national interests of certain countries. First used as a political notion, it was eventually incorporated into legal framework to ensure internal peace and stability. Its peculiarity is that it is applied to the People whereas the international law does not define the term – People. Despite certain countries exploiting it and suggesting subjective interpretations, the international jurisprudence and doctrine identifies concrete limits.

    First, it is common knowledge that the term People implies a nation and as such, self-determination is possible within the framework of the existing state. Second, certain groups, victims of colonialism, were recognized as People and their right to free themselves of colonial domination through peaceful or military means was recognized as well.

    The ruling of the International Court of Justice on Namibia and Western Sahara reaffirmed that. For instance, Canada’s Supreme Court avoids clearly defining the term People. Yet it states that the right to self-determination only generates a right in situations of former colonies; where People is oppressed; or where a certain group is denied meaningful access to government.

    Third, minorities living within national borders are not People. They have the right to exercise the right to self-determination but not to the detriment of the territorial integrity of a state. There are specific provisions in the international documents regarding the minority rights.The sole objective of those documents is to foster favorable conditions for minorities to continue developing their cultural identity.

    In light of the above mentioned the Minsk Group Co-chairs must acknowledge their mission for the humankind and increase efforts for resolution of the conflict based on the norms and principles of the international law.

    Fazıl ZEYNALOV

  • Support the Victims of Police Brutality in Armenia

    Support the Victims of Police Brutality in Armenia

    According to İndigogo Men beaten, women & children attacked, cars destroyed, cameras & phones seized ….in Armenia. Why?

     

    Appeal for Financial Support to Compensate Armenian Victims of State-Sponsored Terror Committed on January 31, 2015

    Dear Friends,

    The regime in Armenia and its subordinates in Stepanakert committed a large-scale state-sponsored terrorist act on January 31, 2015.  The police, including Special Forces units armed with sniper rifles and automatic weapons, brutally attacked the motorcade of “The Centennial Without this Regime”.  The participants of the motorcade, which included entire families, were completely peaceful.  Their point was only to distribute information and yet, the police who were supposed to protect them attacked them.

    The police blockaded the peaceful motorcade on the Syunik to Artsakh highway. Despite the fact that the participants obeyed the demand of the police that the motorcade should turn around, the police attacked them as they were trying to turn around and leave.  Several, among them Artsakh war heroes and an independent journalist, were brutally beaten and required hospitalization.  Others, including women and children, were assaulted; all the while the vehicles themselves were being attacked and severely damaged.

    As a result of this violent attack, organized by the regime, 20 vehicles were damaged, 3 professional cameras were seized from the journalists, numerous smart phones, which were being used to record the mayhem, were violently taken from the participants.  The total amount of the damages is around $40,000.00.

    Most of the individuals who have suffered monetary damages have modest economic means, which makes it very difficult for them to replace or repair their material losses.  We must help them compensate their damages.  We must do it not just because they need and deserve it, but because whatever our beliefs we must keep Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Movement safe in Armenia.  The way to do that is to lend a helping hand to the innocent people who suffered only because they exercised what should be their right in their own country.

    In whatever way you can, take this small but incredibly valuable moment to help, and share this story with your friends and family!

    For those who can not make a donation with a Credit Card or PayPal through Indiegogo, you may contribute directly to Founding Parliament by other means provided at http://himnadir.am/donate

    Below is the full video, clearly showing the despicable nature of the attack.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbF33yx8jpo:

  • Turkey warns US over Armenia genocide resolution

    Turkey warns US over Armenia genocide resolution

    Istanbul, Dec 21 (DPA) The Turkish government has warned US President Barack Obama that a congressional vote on a resolution recognising the massacre of Armenians during World War I as a ‘genocide’ could severely damage relations, the Turkish press reported Tuesday.

    Map of Turkey

    The US House of Representatives has tentatively planned a vote on the resolution for Tuesday, just before the 111th congress concludes. In March, the non-binding resolution was passed by a 23-22 vote in the House’s Foreign Affairs Committee, a move Turkey protested by withdrawing its ambassador to Washington for one month.

    Armenians contend that up to 1.5 million of their people were systematically killed by the Ottoman Turks in 1915. The US has approximately one million citizens of Armenian descent and the diaspora has rallied for recognition of the killings as a ‘genocide’.

    Turkey has long denied the genocide claim, saying the number of Armenians killed is much lower than claimed and that the deaths were the result of intercommunal violence at the time that also affected other ethnic groups.

    The Turkish government and Turkish-American advocacy groups have engaged in an intense lobbying effort to prevent the resolution from going to a vote in the House.

    On Monday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter to Obama saying that the vote could cause a major rift in relations, according to reports in the Turkish press. ‘We are expecting that you will step in and intervene in Congress,’ Erdogan’s letter reportedly said.

    Although Turkey refuses to recognise the genocide claim, relations between the current Turkish and Armenian governments have slightly improved over the last couple of years.

    In October 2009, the two governments signed accords to renew diplomatic relations and open their border. However, neither country has fully ratified the accords, and the process has stalled.

    Ankara has warned that the passing of the genocide resolution in the US House could lead to a rupture in relations with Washington and could harm the already tentative reconciliation process between Turkey and Armenia.

    The Obama administration has opposed the House resolution for the same reasons.

    In 2007, then president George W. Bush successfully pressured the House not to bring a similar genocide resolution to a floor vote, averting a diplomatic crisis between Turkey and the US.

    Sify News