A US congressional panel voted today to label as "genocide" the World War One-era massacre of Armenians by Turkish forces, despite pressure from the Obama administration and Turkey to drop the matter.
The House of Representatives foreign affairs committee voted 23-22 to approve the non-binding resolution, clearing it for consideration by the full House.
But it was unclear whether the measure will get a floor vote.
It calls on President Barack Obama to ensure US policy formally refers to the massacre as genocide, putting him in a tight spot.
On the one side is Nato ally Turkey, which rejects calling the events genocide. On the other side is an important US Armenian-American constituency and their backers in Congress ahead of congressional elections in November.
Turkey had warned its ties with the United States would be damaged and Ankara's efforts to normalize relations with Armenia could be harmed if the resolution were approved.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton telephoned House foreign affairs committee chairman Howard Berman, a fellow Democrat, yesterday to argue the measure could harm efforts to normalize Turkish-Armenian relations, the White House said.
Turkey and Armenia signed a protocol last year to normalize relations but it has yet to pass through the parliament of either country. Mr Obama called Turkish President Abdullah Gul yesterday to urge quick ratification, the White House said.
Despite Mrs Clinton's appeal, Mr Berman went ahead with a committee debate and a vote. He said Turkey was a "vital" ally but "nothing justifies Turkey's turning a blind eye to the reality of the Armenian genocide."
Muslim Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians were killed by Ottoman forces but denies that up to 1.5 million died and that it amounted to genocide - a term employed by many Western historians and some foreign parliaments.
Congressional opponents expressed concern about harming ties with Turkey, whose help the United States needs to solve confrontations from Iraq to Iran and Afghanistan.
Reuters