ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey warned the Obama administration Friday of diplomatic consequences if it doesn’t quash a congressional resolution that would brand the World War I-era killing of Armenians as genocide.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey, a key Muslim ally of the U.S., would assess what measures it would take, adding that the issue was a matter of “honor” for his country.
Meanwhile, a senior Obama administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said there was an understanding with the Democratic leadership in Congress that the resolution would not go to a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives.
A congressional committee approved the measure Thursday. The 23-22 vote would send the measure to the full House, if the leadership decided to bring it up.
Minutes after the vote, Turkey withdrew its ambassador to the United States.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton did not answer a question about the diplomatic fallout Friday.
Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.
Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.
President Barack Obama promised during his campaign to officially recognize the killings as genocide but has not done so.
