Turks link Armenia to US foes in bid to derail genocide nod
Ankara's allies raise concerns with Yerevan's ties to Iran and Russia.
Pro-Turkey groups are drawing attention to Yerevan's ties to US foes as the debate over whether to recognize an Armenian genocide intensifies.
The allegations have recently made their way into congressional hearings, lawmakers' correspondence and newspaper op-eds ahead of the centennial of the Ottoman-era massacres April 24. Critics say the accusations are a futile attempt to exploit congressional anger at Iran and Russia in a bid to derail a bipartisan genocide resolution commemorating the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million people.
"Questions about Armenia's banking relationship with Iran, authorized, pushed prodded and cajoled by Russia is new and concerning," Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said at a Feb. 11 House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the "global threat" posed by Iran. "I look forward to questions, particularly questions on Russia’s involvement through Armenia in the backdoor circumvention of the sanctions as they are in place today."
Turkish Progress, a new group of Turkish-Americans opposed to the genocide resolution, highlighted Issa's comments the next day in its very first press release. The group went on to suggest that by working with Turkey, "Armenia can reclaim its national sovereignty, be truly independent from Tehran and Moscow, and prevent alienating itself from the West."
