US Senate passes resolution recognizing 1915 events as 'Armenian genocide'

U.S. Senate passed Thursday a resolution recognizing the 1915 events as "Armenian genocide," in a move that is sure to anger Turkey.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez shared the news on his Twitter account. "Our resolution to recognize and commemorate the Armenian Genocide just passed the U.S. Senate," he wrote.

The resolution had been blocked several times in the Senate, even though the Democratic-led House of Representatives passed the resolution by an overwhelming 405-11 late October.

The resolution asserts that it is U.S. policy to commemorate the 1915 events as "genocide."

Turkey objects to presenting the 1915 incidents as "genocide," rather calling them a tragedy in which both Turks and Armenians suffered casualties in the heat of World War I.

Ankara immediately denounced the House vote. It views foreign involvement in the issue as a threat to its sovereignty.
It has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia under the supervision of international experts to examine the issue.

Recognition of the 1915 events as "genocide" had for decades stalled in the Congress, stymied by concerns about relations with Turkey.