WASHINGTON (AFP) — US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday a congressional bid to label the Ottoman massacre of Armenians a "genocide" would be "very problematic" for ties with Turkey and for Middle East peace.
In comments echoed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Rice also said the House of Representatives resolution would be "very destabilizing for our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Speaking after White House talks between the two top officials and President George W. Bush, Rice said she sympathized with the plight of the Armenians under the Ottoman Empire during World War I.
"But the passage of this resolution at this time would, indeed, be very problematic for everything that we're trying to do in the Middle East because we are very dependent on a good Turkish strategic ally for this," she said.
Turkey has already warned that passage of the resolution could force it to bar the United States from a key military base in its south, and Gates noted that about 70 percent of all US air cargo going into Iraq goes through Turkey.
"They believe clearly that access to airfields and to the roads and so on in Turkey would be very much put at risk if this resolution passes, and the Turks react as strongly as we believe they will," the Pentagon chief said.
Fully 95 percent of tough new mine-resistant vehicles destined for US forces in Iraq also transit through Turkey, he added.
"And so our heavy dependence on the Turks for access is really the reason that the (military) commanders raise this and why we're so concerned about the resolution."
But the measure, which was to be debated by the House foreign affairs committee later Wednesday, has strong backing among US lawmakers including the chamber's Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Turkey categorically rejects Armenians' claims that 1.5 million of their kinsmen died in systematic deportations and killings during 1915-1918 as the Ottoman Empire was breaking up.
Rice noted that Bush had spoken about the issue repeatedly throughout his presidency.
"We have encouraged the Turkish government to work with the Armenian government to put together a way to overcome and reconcile this horrible past and these terrible differences," she said.
"We believe there's some improvement in Turkish-Armenian relations."
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