WASHINGTON D.C. - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates warned in joint identical letters the leaders of the U.S House of Representatives regarding the draft resolution on so-called Armenian genocide.
In the letters Rice and Gates said, "adoption of this draft will damage the efforts to support reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia."
The joint identical letters, pointing to the difficulties which the Armenian draft resolution would cause, were sent to House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Rep. John Boehner, leader of the House`s Republican minority; and Rep. Tom Lantos, the Democrat who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
According to AP News Agency, Rice and Gates in the letter dated March 7th, said the United States is encouraging "our friends in Turkey to re-examine their past with honesty and to reconcile with Armenia, as well as security and stability in the broader Middle East and Europe."
Rice and Gates warned the members of the House of Representatives of repercussions of such a vote, and reminded that Turkish army terminated defense contracts under negotiation following passage of a resolution in the French National Assembly last October.
The letter said, "passage of such a resolution could harm American troops in the field, constrain our ability to supply our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and significantly damage our efforts to promote reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey."
On the other hand, in an interview with The Associated Press the U.S. Special Representative for Countering Terrorism general Joseph Ralston said "this is an incredibly sensitive issue inside Turkey, and what we are trying to encourage the Turks to have is meaningful reform of their dealings with Armenia."