The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs approved the resolution on Armenian allegations on Thursday.
The committee approved the resolution on incidents of 1915 --which took place shortly before the fall of the Ottoman Empire-- with 23 votes against 22. The resolution was proposed by Democrats Adam Schiff and Frank Pallone and Republicans George Radanovich and Mark Kirk, all important figures for the Armenian lobby in the U.S.
Turkey strongly rejects the genocide allegations and regards the events as civil strife in wartime which claimed lives of many Turks and Armenians.
Every year between March 4 and April 24 alarm bells ring for relations between Turkey and U.S., two close allies for decades.
The Armenian lobbies in the U.S. pressure the U.S. legislators to pass a resolution urging the President to recognise the events as genocide.
Turkish legislators and officials pay visits to U.S. House and hold meetings with senior U.S. officials and businessmen to prevent the resolution from being adopted.
A similar resolution was adopted with 27 seven votes against 21 in 2007 but as a result of former President George W. Bush's intervention, the resolution was not brought to the House floor.
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