U.S. tries to defuse Armenian genocide dispute with Turkey

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Seeking to defuse a dispute with Turkey, the Obama administration has urged Congress to drop proposed legislation labeling a 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces as genocide.

But a key House of Representatives lawmaker Thursday held a hearing on the matter and called for a vote on it.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton telephoned House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman on Wednesday to argue that the legislation could harm efforts to normalize Turkish-Armenian relations, the White House said.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer also said President Obama called Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Wednesday to urge quick ratification of a protocol signed last year to normalize Turkish-Armenian ties.

“Secretary Clinton called Chairman Berman yesterday and in that conversation the secretary indicated that further congressional action could impede progress on normalization of relations,” Hammer said.

Despite Clinton’s appeal, Berman went ahead with the hearing Thursday, calling Turkey a “vital” ally but saying, “Be that as it may, nothing justifies Turkey’s turning a blind eye to the reality of the Armenian genocide.”

-- Reuters