Abdullah Gül Urges Obama to Prevent Adopting Armenian Genocide Bill

Just hours before the US House of Representatives Committee of Foreign Affairs votes on the Armenian Genocide Bill (H.Res.252), President of Turkey Abdullah Gül had a phone conversation with US President Barack Obama.

Gül reportedly urged Obama to mediate and prevent the adoption of the bill, adding that, otherwise, it would negatively affect Turkish-Armenian relations.

The bill is to be voted on March 4. If the resolution passes the committee, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will decide if or when to bring it to a House floor vote. She is likely to hold a floor vote, reports Hurriyet Daily News, if she sees a majority of the 435 House members backing the resolution.

The non-binding resolution calls on President Barack Obama to ensure U.S. policy formally refers to the killings as “genocide” and to use the term when he delivers his annual message on the issue in April — something he avoided doing last year.

Similar Armenian Genocide resolutions passed the same committee in 2000, 2005 and 2007, but none of them made it to a House floor vote.