Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter to the U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday, urging him not to pass a resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.
Yerevan describes the massacre of ethnic Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I as genocide and says nearly million people were killed. Turkey rejects the accusations.
"Prime Minister Erdogan sent a letter to the U.S. President Obama, urging him not to allow discussion of the Armenian resolution in the House of Representatives," the Turkish NTV TV channel cited Davutoglu as saying. "He is convinced that Obama, as always, will show sensitivity to the issue."
The Turkish genocide in Armenia was first recognized by Uruguay in 1965 and many countries, including Russia have since followed suit. Although it has been recognized by 42 U.S. states, the U.S. government has yet to pass a bill on the issue.
Obama promised during his election campaign to recognize the Armenian genocide if he was sworn into office, but has yet to act on his word.
Relations between Armenia and Turkey took a major step forward on October 10, 2009 when Davutoglu and Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan signed protocols on establishing diplomatic relations and developing bilateral relations.
The documents, signed in Switzerland, have to be ratified by both countries to come into force.
However, in April 2010 Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree putting a hold on the ratification, saying Turkey was not ready to continue the reconciliation process.
The Armenian-Turkish border was closed in 1993 on Ankara's initiative. Bilateral relations between the countries are further complicated by Turkey's support of Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over Nagorny Karabakh.
ANKARA, December 20 (RIA Novosti)
