February 4, 2009 - 17:22 AMT
Israeli-Turkish tensions may affect Armenian Genocide recognition process
Turkish PM Edogan's demarche in Davos can push some Jewish organizations to reconsider their support for Turkey against the Armenian Genocide recognition, Ms. Arpi Vartanian, the Armenian Assembly of America Regional Director for Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, told a news conference in Yerevan today.

"Erdogan's walkout was not correct. Certainly, tensions in the Israeli-Turkish relations may affect the Armenian Genocide recognition process and I can't say how," she said.

Meanwhile, Turkish experts worry that Jewish-American groups may support efforts to pass a resolution in the U.S. Congress recognizing the Armenian Genocide during World War I in the wake of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's walkout at Davos summit.

"A major Jewish-American organization, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), reversed its long-held stance in 2007 and said it recognized the Armenian Genocide, although it stood against congressional resolutions to the same effect," reminded Sedat Laciner, head of the Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization (ISRO/USAK).