House votes on genocide, Turkey pulls ambassador

(Theology and Society) - The Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives today (March 4, 2010) endorsed a resolution calling for Washington's recognition of World War I-era killings of as many as one and one-half million Armenians during the last days of the Ottoman Empire as "genocide."

Turkey immediately condemned the U.S. congressional vote labeling the 1915 killings of Armenians as "genocide" and recalled its ambassador to Washington for consultations.

The resolution now heads to a floor vote at the House of Representatives. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- a Democrat who supports the resolution -- will decide if or when it will come to a floor vote.

Today's endorsement of the congressional resolution could jeopardize Turkey's ties with both the United States and Armenia, according to the Hurriyet Daily News (Turkish) website.