U.S. House Panel To Vote On Armenian Genocide Resolution

A measure to declare that the World War I-era killings of Armenians was genocide is expected to advance in the U.S. Congress next week, despite opposition from the Bush administration and Turkey's warning that its relations with Washington could be badly damaged. Similar measures have been debated in Congress for decades, but have repeatedly been thwarted amid concerns about damaging relations with Turkey, an important NATO ally. Tuesday's announcement by the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee that it would consider the resolution next Wednesday signals that the Democratic leaders, who control the House, support the measure. With that support, the bill stands a good chance of passing in a vote by the full House this time. If the resolution is approved by the committee, it would be up to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to decide whether to bring it to the House floor for a vote. While Pelosi has previously expressed support for recognizing the killings as genocide, it is not clear whether she would bring the resolution to a vote. But according to two congressional aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, the committee would not have taken up the resolution without Pelosi's support. The measure is expected to pass in the committee and has widespread support in the full House, should Pelosi allow a vote.