Turkey's Embassy in Washington, D.C. has intensified lobbying efforts against a possible approval of an Armenian resolution at the U.S. House of Representatives that calls for the recognition of Armenian allegations over the the incidents of 1915 back in the Ottoman Empire.
Diplomatic sources close to the ongoing efforts said Turkish Ambassador in Washington, D.C. Namik Tan personally telephoned Congress members to win their support against the resolution as the ambassador also called former U.S. secretaries of state and defense as well as national security advisors.
The Turkish Embassy also had contacted officials with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to have them exert pressure on Congress members and warn them over possible damage of the resolution on business relations between Turkey and the United States.
The resolution "H. Res. 252" --labelling the 1915 incidents which took place shortly before the fall of the Ottoman Empire as genocide -- was approved by the Foreign Relations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 23 against 22 last March.
The adoption of the resolution caused wide reaction in Turkey, which recalled its ambassador, who returned to Washington, D.C. a month later.
The resolution may come to the House floor on Tuesday on a call by Rep. Nancy Pelosi.
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