US Senate Passes Armenian Genocide Resolution, Turkey Says It's 'Not Binding'

The US Senate has unanimously passed the Armenian Genocide resolution, which was previously blocked three times by Republican Senators at the request of the White House.

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US Senate Passes Armenian Genocide Resolution, Turkey Says It's 'Not Binding'

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

The US Senate yesterday (December 12) passed a resolution that recognizes the Armenian Genocide.

The resolution asserts that "it is the policy" of the US to commemorate the genocide "through official recognition and remembrance."

Democratic Senator Bob Menendez was the first to announce the result of the vote. "Our resolution to recognize and commemorate the Armenian Genocide just passed the United States Senate," he said, also tagging Republican Senator Ted Cruz in his tweet.

US President Donald Trump can veto the resolution, which is now approved by both houses of the Congress. However, the Congress can override the President's veto by approving the resolution by a two-thirds vote in each house.

What does the resolution say?

That it is the sense of the Senate that it is the policy of the United States—

(1) to commemorate the Armenian Genocide through official recognition and remembrance;

(2) to reject efforts to enlist, engage, or otherwise associate the United States Government with denial of the Armenian Genocide or any other genocide; and

(3) to encourage education and public under10 standing of the facts of the Armenian Genocide, in11 cluding the role of the United States in humani12 tarian relief efforts, and the relevance of the Arme13 nian Genocide to modern-day crimes against humanity.

Click for the full text of the resolution

Senators previously blocked the resolution

Last week, the White House asked Republican Senator Kevin Cramer to block voting on the resolution, according to the Axios news site. Cramer said he does not think it is "the right time" to pass the resolution, according to Axios. That marked the third time a Republican senator blocked the measure at the White House's request.

Last month, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham objected to passing the resolution after Menendez sought consent to pass it. Republican Senator David Perdue was also asked to block the resolution.

The senator reportedly cited US President Donald Trump's meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at this month's NATO summit in London, saying the resolution could harm the Trump administration's diplomatic efforts.

"If the US side really wants to act fairly, it should refrain from taking a political stand on a matter that historians should decide," said Erdoğan.

On October 29, the anniversary of the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, the House of Representatives voted 405-11 in favor of the resolution to recognize the genocide.

Countries that recognize the Genocide

Armenia, Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, Cyprus, Libya, Lithuania, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Syria, Chile, Vatican, Venezuela, Greece.

Foreign Minister: It is a political show

Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu criticized the resolution on Twitter, saying, "The Senate resolution is nothing more than a political show. It is not legally binding and it has no validity whatsoever."

Çavuşoğlu said those who use history for political purposes are cowards who do not want to face the truth.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement condemning the US move, saying the US resolution was one of the "shameful examples of how history can be politicized."

The ministry said the move was a destructive attempt aimed at damaging efforts on the development of relations between Ankara and Washington. (EKN/VK)