Turkey warns US against Armenian genocide resolution News
Turkey warns US against Armenian genocide resolution

[JURIST] Turkish foreign minister Abdullah Gul [official profile] said Wednesday that a proposed resolution [text, PDF] by the US Congress condemning the mass killings [BBC backgrounder] of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1917 as "genocide" would damage US-Turkish relations. Turkey has maintained that the deaths do not amount to genocide [JURIST comment] and has recently objected to similiar legislation or proposed legislation in Argentina and France [JURIST reports].

Gul met with State Department [official website] officials on Tuesday, saying that the House resolution may threaten Turkey's cooperation with the US on issues such as Iraq. The Bush Administration has promised to work with Congress to avoid the resolution. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Egypt President Anwar Sadat visits Israel

On November 19, 1977, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat visited Israel, becoming the first leader of an Arab nation to officially visit. Two years later, President Sadat became the first Arab leader to recognize Israel by signing the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty. Read President Sadat's address to the Israeli Knesset.

Jay Treaty signed

On November 19, 1794, US Chief Justice John Jay and British foreign secretary Lord Grenville signed a treaty in Philadelphia under which British forces pulled out of the disputed Northwest Territory. Review the Jay Treaty.