"Turkish - Armenian Reconciliation
Sahin Alpay
Turkish - Armenian Reconciliation
By Sahin Alpay
House Resolution 596 - the 'Armenian Genocide Resolution' - introduced in September 2000 was not taken up in the U.S. Congress, because President Bill Clinton asked the Speaker of the House of Representatives to stop it. President Clinton opposed the bill, because he believed that its passage would have an extremely adverse effect on relations between the US and its close ally Turkey. Clinton administration officials then asked David L. Phillips of the Council on Foreign Relations to form a commission, bringing together Turkish and Armenian civil society representatives, which would explore what could be done in order to resolve the disputes between the two sides. As a result, the Turkish - Armenian Reconciliation Commission (TARC) was established with the approval of both the Turkish and Armenian foreign ministries. The commission held meetings between July 2001 and April 2004. "
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