Op-ed: US Senate resolution on Armenian genocide will not become law

The US Senate approved a resolution yesterday on December 12 according to which the massacre of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War has been recognized as genocide.

• US Senate passes resolution recognising Armenian Genocide

American media note that the resolution was adopted unanimously, but only on the fourth attempt. For several weeks the bill was proposed by Democrat Robert Menendez, but Republican senators blocked it.

Meanwhile, Ankara’s prediction has been harsh if predictable.

Just a couple of hours after the news of the adoption of the resolution, the Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement in which it described the adopted document as “devoid of a legal basis and aimed at undermining efforts to develop Turkish-American relations.”

US experts are worried that the adoption of this document could be a strong blow to US-Turkish relations.

Armenian political scientist Suren Sargsyan believes that the main thing to keep in mind at this time is that the resolution adopted by the US Senate is not law.

More from his Facebook post below.

• “This is only a statement, it has no legal effect and will not be sent for signature to President Trump.

• Both houses of the US Congress passed a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

• The President and government officials are not required to use the word “genocide”.

Sargsyan mentions these facts given that every year on April 24, when the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Armenian Genocide is observed in Armenia, the public often expects the US President to call the events that took place at the beginning of the 20th century in Ottoman Turkey ‘genocide.’

So far, not one president has used this word.

Suren Sargsyan also comments on why, in his opinion, the resolution was adopted right now:

• “Today the anti-Turkish sentiment in Washington is quite pronounced.

• Protecting Turkey is a thankless job.

• The vetoed senators were seriously pressured by the public, which was much stronger than the White House’s requests. Therefore, they did not confirm the veto.

• The winner’s laurels belong exclusively to our diaspora …

• “Turkish-American relations have never been so bad.”

In conclusion, Sargsyan writes: “Now it is time to work with Trump”, by which he presumably means the work of the Armenian lobby of the United States and the Armenian authorities.