Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Chairman of American Turkish Council's (ATC) Board of Directors, Richard Armitage stated that Turkey should not neglect Azerbaijani interests in the process of normalization of relations with Armenia.
Commenting on the ongoing Turkey-Armenia dialogue to VOA News, Armitage said that the U.S. administration supports this initiative. “I am not sure whether Turkish Parliament will ratify Zurich protocols or not, but the initiative towards normalization of relations with Armenia cannot be underestimated. On the other hand, Turkey should not damage Azerbaijan’s interests. I know that our Azerbaijani friends get surprised at the speed of the process. Besides, they are not being well informed on this issue. The ties with Azerbaijan should be repaired,” he said.
As to adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution in the U.S. Congress, Armitage said, "Yes, I am concerned about that a bit. The Armenian Diaspora is strong, especially in California. This is a political reality in United States. I have worries about the probability of revival of the genocide resolution. But I hope the Armenian Diaspora will be farsighted and will show an appropriate attitude, realizing how difficult the mission of Turkish government is."
The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres, and deportations involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.
The date of the onset of the genocide is conventionally held to be April 24, 1915, the day that Ottoman authorities arrested some 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople. Thereafter, the Ottoman military uprooted Armenians from their homes and forced them to march for hundreds of miles, depriving them of food and water, to the desert of what is now Syria.
To date, twenty countries and 44 U.S. states have officially recognized the events of the period as genocide, and most genocide scholars and historians accept this view. The Armenian Genocide has been also recognized by influential media including The New York Times, BBC, The Washington Post and The Associated Press.
The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.
The Armenian Genocide resolution (H.Res. 106) was submitted to the House of Representatives by Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA), on January 30, 2007, during the 110th United States Congress. It was a non-binding resolution calling upon the US President to ensure that the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States record relating to the Armenian Genocide, and for other purposes. Upon its introduction it was referred to United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs where it passed a 27-21 vote and was sent back for a full house vote. On October 26, 2007, in a letter addressed to the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, four key sponsors of the bill, requested a debate on the bill in full House to be postponed.
In 2009, another congressional resolution affirming the U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide (H.Res.252) was been formally introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Adam Schiff (D.-CA), George Radanovich (R.-CA), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D.-NJ), and Mark Kirk (R.-Ill). It currently has 134 co-sponsors.
