US State Dept: No deal to stop ‘genocide’ resolution

Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon, the US State Department’s top diplomat for Europe, told reporters on Wednesday that there is no deal with Democratic congressional leaders to block the resolution. That contradicts earlier claims by the State Department.

“Congress is an independent body, and they are going to do what they decide to do,” Gordon said during a news briefing before a speech on US relations with Turkey at the Brookings Institution.

At the same briefing, Gordon also urged support for more sanctions against Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program, saying Ankara could face consequences if it moves out of step with the international community.

Turkey strongly opposes the resolution adopted by the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, recalling its ambassador to the US after the committee approved the measure on March 4. The Obama administration has urged lawmakers not to allow it to proceed to a vote by the whole House of Representatives.

“We would like to see the ambassador here. We think he should be here, making Turkey’s case,” Gordon said of Turkey’s ambassador to the US, Namık Tan.

It is not clear that proponents of the resolution have sufficient support to pass it or that the leader of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, is prepared to bring it to the floor for a vote.

“I recognize that we have a tough job ahead of us to garner the necessary support,” said the resolution’s chief sponsor, Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California.

Gordon said that the resolution had created an obstacle for reconciliation talks between Turkey and Armenia. The two countries reached a deal last year to normalize relations and open their border, but it has not yet been ratified by their governments. Gordon denied that the process has stalled. “I really think that those two countries’ leaderships are committed to doing this,” he told reporters.

He said the Obama administration thinks that the historical issues are best addressed by the two countries as part of the reconciliation talks.

Armenians say that up to 1.5 million of their ancestors were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I. Turkey, however, denies that the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

‘Turkey should get on board with Iran sanctions’

Gordon acknowledged that the congressional committee’s vote had set US-Turkish relations back at a time when the United States was seeking help from Ankara on reining in Iran’s nuclear ambitions. He said the United States has not seen a deterioration of cooperation with Turkey on a wide range of foreign policy issues.

Yet, Gordon said Turkey, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council that has been wary of the US-led push to further punish Iran, must show it is “on board” with the move towards new sanctions.

“Many would be disappointed if Turkey is an exception to an international consensus on dealing with Iran,” he said. “Turkey wants to be an important, responsible actor on the international scene. And I think joining the majority of the Security Council in doing this would reinforce that image,” Gordon said. “Not doing so would not contribute to that positive outcome. ... I think that’s a consequence.”

The United States and other Western powers are seeking support for new UN sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, which they fear is a cover for developing atomic weapons.

But China, a permanent, veto-wielding member of the Security Council, along with non-permanent members Turkey and Brazil, have urged more time for diplomacy with Iran, which insists its nuclear program is purely for peaceful purposes.

On Tuesday, while reiterating Turkey’s opposition to nuclear weapons in the Middle East, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he believed neighboring Iran did not have such intentions.