Republican and Democratic members of Congress called into question Turkey’s reliability as a U.S. ally, highlighted its deteriorating relationship with Israel, and addressed a range of issues from Armenian Genocide denial to its repression of Christian minorities and the occupation of Cyprus, during a three-hour House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing held earlier today, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) reported.

Chairman Howard Berman touched upon five policy areas concerns related to U.S.-Turkey ties, including Ankara’s denial of the Armenian Genocide.

“It is critical that Turkey acknowledge the genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenian people during World War I. That’s why this Committee has repeatedly passed measures recognizing the Genocide and calling on the President to do likewise. I believe that Turks, once they come to terms with their past, will discover that they have relieved themselves and their children of an immense moral burden,” he said.

ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian thanked the Chairman Berman for his support.

“We want to thank Chairman Berman and Representatives Costa, Smith, Royce, Sires, Bilirakis, Berkley, and Mack for shedding much needed sunshine on the many failings of our government’s weak response to a leadership in Ankara that is increasingly and openly acting
against both U.S. interests and American values,” Aram Hamparian noted.