Global General

Turkey recalls US envoy over genocide bill

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-03-05 05:29
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ANKARA - NATO-member Turkey on Thursday recalled its ambassador to the United States for consultations after a vote in a US congressional committee branded the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces genocide.

In a statement, Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan also said he was seriously concerned that the non-binding resolution would harm Turkish-US ties and efforts by Muslim Turkey and Christian Armenia to bury a century of hostility.

Turkey, a Muslim but secular democracy, plays a vital role for US interests from Iran to Afghanistan to the Middle East.