Turkey Recalls Its US Ambassador Over Armenian Genocide Resolution

Turkey has recalled its ambassador in Washington for consultations after a U.S. congressional panel passed a resolution describing the early 20th century massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide.

The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee passed the non-binding resolution Wednesday in a vote of 27-21. It now goes to the 435-member House for a full vote.

Turkey denounced the resolution, saying in a statement that it is unacceptable that the Turkish nation has been accused of a crime that it never committed. Turkish President Abdullah Gul accused the lawmakers who voted in favor of the measure of ignoring common sense in favor of petty politics.

The White House says U.S. President George Bush is disappointed about the vote.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said Turkey is playing a critical role in the war on terror, and the action is problematic for everything the U.S. is trying to do in the Middle East. He said it will "cause grave harm" to those efforts.

Armenian President Robert Kocharian welcomed the resolution, saying he hopes it will lead to full recognition by the U.S. of the genocide.

The White House called on lawmakers to focus on domestic agenda items instead of debating the Ottoman Empire.

Armenians accuse the Ottoman Turks of killing 1.5 million Armenians from 1915 to 1923 in systematic deportations and killings to drive them out of eastern Turkey.

Turkey rejects that a genocide occurred. It calls the death toll exaggerated, and says a large number of people died in civil unrest during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters. - VOA NEWS