Spain’s government does its utmost for the parliament not to approve the bill on Armenian Genocide in 1915 by Ottoman Empire, Spanish ABC newspaper reports.
According to the daily, “government fully acknowledges that Genocide recognition will provoke negative response of Turkey that is one of Spain’s key allies in NATO.”

ABC also notes that “Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos contacted Jose Bono, the President of the Congress of Deputies to torpedo the initiative.”

Catalonian Parliament already passed the bill recognizing Armenian Genocide, thus Spanish government worries that it might happen in Madrid as well. Spanish government fears that Spain might also face aggravation of relations with Turkey, as it happened with U.S.-Turkish and Swedish-Turkish relations following approval of Genocide resolution in countries’ parliaments, the daily reads.

The source recalls that Turkey had never recognized massacres of 1.5 million Armenians, speaking about 300.000 people and referring the events to World War I events.

A.G.