The resolution, introduced by 77 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, calls on US President Barack Obama to "accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide" in his annual message to be released on April 24, marked as commemoration day by Armenians. The resolution is nearly identical to an earlier one introduced in 2007.
The move comes weeks before President Obama is expected to pay a visit to Turkey. If passed, the resolution would alienate Ankara, which denies the genocide claims, and undermine the Obama administration's efforts to win Turkish support in a number of key foreign policy goals. During Obama's visit to Turkey, which is expected take place April 6-7, Iran's nuclear program, US plans to withdraw troops from Iraq and Middle East peace efforts will be on the agenda. The fact that Obama plans to visit Turkey just two months after taking office is widely seen as indicative of the central role Ankara is set to play in the Obama administration's foreign policy.
The resolution also likely to hurt an ongoing rapprochement process between Turkey and Armenia, two neighbors that have no formal relations due to tension over, among other things, the Armenian genocide claims. President Abdullah G
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