The leader of Turkey’s main opposition has requested that U.S. President Barack Obama take all necessary steps to prevent a vote on an Armenian “genocide” resolution in the U.S. Congress.
“Mr. President, I would like to devote my first letter to you to Turkish-American relations and international developments. However, as the vote about Armenian claims at the U.S. House of Representatives is on the immediate agenda, that obliges me to focus solely on this issue this time,” Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, said in his letter sent to Washington on Thursday. The letter’s Turkish version was posted on the party’s official website.
It was sent before Congress went to recess without being able to bring the resolution to a vote.
Recalling that parliaments are not places to rewrite history or pass judgments on it, Kılıçdaroğlu said such decisions taken in third countries’ parliaments hurt Turkish public opinion.
“The solution is in the dialogue between Turkey and Armenia. The adoption of resolution No. 252 would provide lasting damage to both Turkish-U.S. and Turkish-Armenian relations,” he said.
Calling on Obama to prevent the vote with immediate action, Kılıçdaroğlu said: “If you want the continuation of the goodwill of the Turkish people, than Mr. President, it is time to act. There are so many things Turkey and the United States will do together for the peace, stability, security and the prosperity of the world.”
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