A PROBLEM IN TURKEY-US RELATIONS IN THE 1980'S: ARMENIAN DRAFT RESOLUTIONS

Year 2010, Issue: 21, 97 - 126, 01.05.2010

Abstract

In the 1980s there were many problems between Turkey and the US and some of these problems didn’t stem directly from their bilateral relations. One of the problems was Armenian resolutions, which were brought forward in the US Congress by the Armenian Diaspora to officialise the date April 24 as the commemoration day of the so-called Armenian genocide. This issue has always been considered as a sensitive matter in Turkey-US relations. Turkey’s reaction on the matter was sharp. In view of Turkey’s reaction, the US administration sought to prevent the Armenian resolutions from becoming law, because the American strategic interests may have been affected badly and the bilateral relations with Turkey, which was an ally of the US, may have fallen out of track. The US administration communicated the concerns of the US to the Congressmen and also explicated that the strategic interests of the US may have been affected badly if the resolutions had become law. As a result of the US Administration’s efforts, Armenian resolutions failed to become law. The Armenian terror, which had been seen as an important method in service of the Armenian radical group’s interests, was replaced by civil activism in the second half of the 1980’s. The US Congress became a platform on which this civil activism supported by the Armenian Diaspora sought to be effective. In this study, Turkey-US relations under the influence of the Armenian resolutions are examined.

Keywords

Turkey, US, 1980’s, Armenian Diaspora, Armenian Resolutions