By Jordain Carney
WASHINGTON (The Hill) — The Senate passed a resolution on Thursday, December 12, formally recognizing the Ottoman Empire’s genocide against the Armenian people, a move strongly opposed by the Turkish government.
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) passed the resolution, which provides “official recognition and remembrance” of the Armenian genocide, by consent.
“We have just passed the Armenian genocide resolution … and it is fitting and appropriate that the Senate stands on the right side of history in doing so. It commemorates the truth of the Armenian genocide,” Menendez said from the Senate floor.
Under the Senate’s rules any senator can ask to pass a resolution. As long as another senator doesn’t object, the measure will clear the chamber. The Armenian genocide resolution passed the House in a 405-11 vote.
The move comes after three GOP senators previously blocked passage of the resolution amid pressure from the White House, which argued that it would undercut negotiations between Washington and Ankara, which vehemently opposes recognizing the killing of 1.5 million Armenians in the early 20th century as genocide.
