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Congressman Steve Cohen: Â«The Â«Armenian genocideÂ» issue remains a matter of debate by historians, making it dangerous for politicians to make conclusive historical claimsÂ»

05 March 2010 01:57 (UTC +04:00)

Washington. Isabel Levine â€“ APA. The Congress members who are against the excepted decision on Armenian â€œgenocideâ€ are concerned about the result.

â€œThis is irresponsibleâ€ -told APAâ€™s Washington correspondent Mr. Michael McMahon, the member of Azeri and Turkish Causes at the US Congress.

He pointed out that, this bill is against regional security and US-Turkey cooperation in global issues.

â€œI always supported regional cooperation, where Turkey and Azerbaijan are represented. These countries are doing everything to bring peace. Turkish-Armenian normalization and Nagorno-Karabakh peace process are increasing the peace hopes in the regionâ€ â€“ Congressman McMahon stressed.

He also mentioned that, Turkish-American relationship is very important for Washington.

Meanwhile, the co-chares of Turkish Causes in Congress have made a statement against the Armenian â€œGenocideâ€ bill.

Congress members Ed Whitfield, Kay Granger and Steve Cohen stressed:

â€œA vote on this resolution will do nothing to rectify the tragedies of the past, but it will most certainly have significant negative consequences on current and future U.S. relations with Turkey and the Armenia-Turkey normalization process. The ties that bind Turkey and the United States are strong and will continue to be strong as we combat threats to both our nations and work to bring stability to the Middle East. At this decisive juncture in history, the U.S. Congress should heed the call of the old Turkish proverb and do all that we can to foster our friendship, instead of recklessly endangering itâ€.

They also mention on their statement that, â€œTurkey plays today an invaluable role in assisting USâ€™s efforts to combat international terrorism. In Afghanistan, Turkey has provided hundreds of millions of dollars for reconstruction efforts and humanitarian aid and operates hospitals and schools that serve hundreds of thousands of individuals. More broadly, Turkey is a key diplomatic partner in a challenging and sometimes hostile region of the world. As the only secular democracy with a predominantly Muslim population, Turkey is uniquely poised to work with surrounding countries such as Syria, Lebanon and Iran. These ties can only serve to help the U.S. in our own dealings with the region, as well as in promoting regional energy security, and assisting in the Middle East peace processâ€.

According to the congress members, as a global leader, the United States must continue to play an active role in ending atrocities throughout the world.

â€œAnd as friends and allies, we should always be able to tell Turkey how we really feel when we disagree with their policies and actions. But the â€œArmenian genocideâ€ issue remains a matter of debate by historians, making it dangerous for politicians to make conclusive historical claimsâ€, -they added.