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Bush warns against Armenia bill Bush warns against Armenia bill
(about 3 hours later)
President George W Bush has urged US legislators not to pass a resolution declaring the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks to be genocide.President George W Bush has urged US legislators not to pass a resolution declaring the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks to be genocide.
"This resolution is not the right response to these historic mass killings," he said hours before a vote by the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the bill's passing would result in a "significant weakening" of his country's ties with the US.
Such a move, already taken by France's parliament, would do "great harm" to US relations with Turkey, Mr Bush added. The country is a regional operational hub for the US military, which uses its airspace to supply US forces in Iraq.
Turkey admits many Armenians died in WWI but denies any genocidal campaign. Turkey admits many Armenians died in World War I but denies genocide.
"This resolution is not the right response to these historic mass killings," Mr Bush said just before the House Foreign Affairs Committee began debating the resolution.
Such a move, already taken by France's parliament for one, would do "great harm" to US relations with Turkey, Mr Bush added.
It is highly unusual for the White House to make such a dramatic last-minute intervention in Congressional business, the BBC's Justin Webb reports from Washington.It is highly unusual for the White House to make such a dramatic last-minute intervention in Congressional business, the BBC's Justin Webb reports from Washington.
With the opposition Democrats now in charge in Congress, they could force a vote, dealing a potentially grave blow to the Bush administration's efforts to keep Turkey on side, our correspondent adds.With the opposition Democrats now in charge in Congress, they could force a vote, dealing a potentially grave blow to the Bush administration's efforts to keep Turkey on side, our correspondent adds.
Turkish indignation 'Sobering choice'
Speaking before Mr Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the passing of the resolution would be "very problematic" for US policy in the Middle East. Even if the bill passes and is then adopted by the House, it will not be binding.
Turkey has seen angry rallies demanding action in IraqTurkey has seen angry rallies demanding action in Iraq
It could, she added, destabilise US efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan because Turkey is a main hub for US military operations in the region. But the BBC's Sarah Rainsford, in Istanbul, says that this will have little impact on the reaction in Turkey which had pulled out all the stops to prevent the genocide resolution reaching Congress.
Even if it passes and is then adopted by the House, the bill will not be binding. Tom Lantos, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, admitted the resolution posed a "sobering" choice as the debate opened.
But the BBC's Sarah Rainsford, in Istanbul, says that this will have little impact on the reaction in Turkey. "We have to weigh the desire to express our solidarity with the Armenian people... against the risk that it could cause young men and women in the uniform of the United States armed services to pay an even heavier price than they are currently paying," he said.
Ankara has pulled out all the stops to prevent the genocide resolution reaching Congress for a vote, she adds. Mr Lantos, himself a survivor of the Jewish Holocaust, said he would introduce a resolution praising US-Turkish friendship next week, according to AFP news agency.
Politicians have travelled to Washington to lobby lawmakers, while the country's prime minister and president have both contacted Mr Bush. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates earlier said that 70% of US air cargo for Iraq went through Turkey, as well as about a third of the fuel used by the US military there.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul warned of "serious problems that will emerge in bilateral relations if the bill is adopted". "Access to airfields and to the roads and so on in Turkey would very much be put at risk if this resolution passes and Turkey reacts as strongly as we believe they will," he added.
Border tensionsBorder tensions
All this comes on top of mounting anger that the US is not doing enough to counter the Kurdish separatist PKK group, which mounts deadly attacks on Turkey from inside Iraq, our correspondent says. The debate comes amid mounting anger in Turkey that the US is not doing enough to counter the Kurdish separatist PKK group, which mounts deadly attacks on Turkey from inside Iraq, our correspondent in Turkey says.
The Turkish prime minister said the government was preparing a motion seeking approval to launch military action in Iraq, which might go before parliament as soon as Thursday. Mr Erdogan said the government was preparing a motion seeking approval to launch military action in Iraq, which might go before parliament as soon as Thursday.
Some Turkish analysts believe the passing of the US resolution would make it harder for the Turkish government to resist public pressure to cross the border. The White House has warned Turkey not to send in troops
However, the US warned Turkey not to pursue Kurdish rebels into northern Iraq.
"We do not think it would be the best place for troops to go into Iraq from Turkey at this time," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
Armenian pressure
Armenia alleges that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed in an organised campaign to force them out of what is now eastern Turkey in 1915-17.Armenia alleges that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed in an organised campaign to force them out of what is now eastern Turkey in 1915-17.
That is strongly denied by Turkey, which says that large numbers of both Turks and Armenians were killed in the chaos surrounding World War I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire when Armenians rose up.That is strongly denied by Turkey, which says that large numbers of both Turks and Armenians were killed in the chaos surrounding World War I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire when Armenians rose up.
It is still extremely difficult to establish a set of undisputed facts about what happened in eastern Anatolia almost a century ago, the BBC's regional analyst Pam O'Toole says. Last year, the lower house of the French parliament declared the killings of Armenians a genocide.
But the issue has been kept alive by the powerful Armenian diaspora.
Last year, the lower house of the French parliament declared the killings a genocide.
Ankara argues that there were massacres by both sides at the time but completely rejects the allegation that there was a state policy to kill Armenians.
Some Turks fear if those events are recognised as genocide, that could open the door to claims for compensation or even territory, our analyst says.