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Turkey recalls ambassador to US
Ankara is recalling its ambassador to Washington for consultations amid anger at a bill in Congress recognising the mass killing of Armenians as genocide.
The passing of the bill by a House committee on Wednesday despite appeals by the Bush administration was denounced by President Abdullah Gul.
Turkey accepts there were mass killings in 1915-17 but denies genocide.
Turkey's foreign ministry said the ambassador would return to Turkey for a stay of "a week or 10 days".
"We are not withdrawing our ambassador," said ministry spokesman Levent Bilman.
"We have asked him to come to Turkey for some consultations."
US President George W Bush had argued against the bill, saying its passage would do "great harm" to relations with "a key ally in Nato and in the global war on terror".
Turkey is a regional operational hub for the US military, and some suggest access to Incirlik airbase or other supply lines crucial to US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, could be affected by the row.
The US also fears Turkey may make a military incursion into northern Iraq to neutralise Kurdish separatist guerrillas there, who continue to cross the border to ambush Turkish troops.
The non-binding vote, passed by 27 to 21 votes by members of the congressional House Foreign Affairs Committee, is the first step towards holding a vote in the House of Representatives.
It was welcomed by Armenian President Robert Kocharyan who said he hoped for "full [US] recognition... of the genocide".
Ankara is recalling its ambassador to Washington for consultations amid anger at a bill in Congress recognising the mass killing of Armenians as genocide.
The passing of the bill by a House committee on Wednesday despite appeals by the Bush administration was denounced by President Abdullah Gul.
Turkey accepts there were mass killings in 1915-17 but denies genocide.
Turkey's foreign ministry said the ambassador would return to Turkey for a stay of "a week or 10 days".
"We are not withdrawing our ambassador," said ministry spokesman Levent Bilman.
"We have asked him to come to Turkey for some consultations."
US President George W Bush had argued against the bill, saying its passage would do "great harm" to relations with "a key ally in Nato and in the global war on terror".
Turkey is a regional operational hub for the US military, and some suggest access to Incirlik airbase or other supply lines crucial to US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, could be affected by the row.
The US also fears Turkey may make a military incursion into northern Iraq to neutralise Kurdish separatist guerrillas there, who continue to cross the border to ambush Turkish troops.
The non-binding vote, passed by 27 to 21 votes by members of the congressional House Foreign Affairs Committee, is the first step towards holding a vote in the House of Representatives.
It was welcomed by Armenian President Robert Kocharyan who said he hoped for "full [US] recognition... of the genocide".
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