Turkey Recalls Its Top US Envoy

Fallout continues from vote on Armenian genocide
By Zach Samalin,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 11, 2007 1:49 PM CDT
Turkey Recalls Its Top US Envoy
Members of the left-wing Workers' Party wave Turkish flags as they chant slogans during a protest against the U.S. and its passing of a bill describing World War I-era killings of Armenians as genocide, Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007. Despite intense lobbying by Turkish officials and opposition...   (Associated Press)

Turkey temporarily recalled its ambassador to the US today, the latest sign of strain in relations between Washington and Ankara. Tensions are high after the House Foreign Affairs Committee's resolution to term as genocide the death of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915-17, Reuters reports. "It should not be understood that we have pulled him back permanently," a Turkish diplomat said.

"We called back our ambassador to Washington for consultation," he said. "He will be in Ankara for a few days." Turkey is lobbying to bury the resolution before it reaches a full House vote. Meanwhile, Washington is still fretting over Turkey's decision to seek authorization for a military incursion into northern Iraq, which could further muddy regional waters. (More Turkey stories.)

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