The House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee voted on Thursday to label the 1915 massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire a genocide.
The committee voted 23 to 22 to adopt the measure and called on President Obama to use the term to "characterize the systemic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide” in an annual presidential statement given that commemorates the event.
The measure was passed despite worries from the Obama administration of straining the United States's relationship with Turkey. Previous presidents including Obama's immediate predecessor, George W. Bush, had asked Congress to stop short of using the word.
The issue has been considered several times. "Our interest remains the achievement of a full, frank, and just acknowledgment of the facts," Mike Hammer, spokesman for the National Security Council, said in a statement.
"We continue to believe that the best way to advance that goal is for the Armenian and Turkish people to address the facts of the past as a part of their ongoing efforts to normalize relations."
Minutes after the House panel approved the resolution, Turkey announced a recall of its ambassador from the United States. A government statement said that Ambassador Namik Tan was being recalled to immediate effect.
Voice of America reported that Secretary of State Hilary Clinton had advised against the reolution. She said, "Both President Obama and I have made clear, both last year and again this year, that we do not believe any action by the Congress is appropriate, and we oppose it."
