Turkey's military-dominated national security council warned Friday that moves in the US Congress to recognize the 1915 killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide could harm the chances for reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia.
"It is to the benefit of everyone, especially the Armenian administration and people, to know that there is no profit in sowing seeds of discord over baseless issues between two peoples who have to live in the same geographical region as long as the world exists," the council said.
In a statement issued after its monthly meeting, the body added that the non-binding resolution was pushed onto the US agenda by "militant Armenian circles" and was based on "subjective judgments, forged documents and political interests."
"Turkey is gradually taking the necessary measures against these efforts," it said. "It is natural for more effective measures to be put into practice according to developments" said the body, which includes high-ranking civil officials but is dominated by the military's top brass.
The council's statement came a day after the US House of Representatives International Relations Committee postponed until next week debate on the bill, which has sparked much anger in Turkey.
If approved by the committee, the bill would go before the full House.
Turkey has warned the United States that adoption of the bill would seriously harm the friendly ties between the two countries and further damage Ankara's already chilly relations with Yerevan.
Armenia maintains that up to 1.5 million of its people were massacred in 1915, while Turkey says the figure was around 300,000.
Turkey also rejects claims of genocide, saying that thousands of Turks also died in what it describes as civil conflict during the last years of the Ottoman Empire.
Turkey does not maintain diplomatic relations with Armenia due to Yerevan's international campaign for recognition of its genocide claims and to its conflict with Azerbaijan, a close ally of Turkey, over the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan -- ANKARA (AFP)
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