Armenian Genocide Resolution was a ‘Mistake’: Robert Gates

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has expressed regret over the passage of US House Resolution 252 on the Armenian Genocide, while voicing awareness of probable “damaging” impacts of the US House committee’s resolution on Turkey-US relations, reports Today’s Zaman.

During an interview with the Al Arabiya television channel broadcast on Friday, Gates was asked about whether he was worried, given that Turkey withdrew its ambassador to the US in reaction to the March 4 vote and that Turkey may have threatened to withhold military assistance to the United States.

“I am worried about it. I will say that it was just one committee of the House of Representatives that voted on this resolution,” Gates responded, according to the transcript of the interview posted on the Defense Department’s website.

“We very strongly feel that the resolution is a mistake. Turkey and Armenia are making progress toward a reconciliation. Protocols have been drafted along those lines. That’s the process that we think ought to be used. A resolution of this kind could be very damaging to US-Turkish relations, and we certainly hope that the Congress and the House of Representatives take this measure no further,” Gates added.