Turkey recalled its ambassador to the United States for immediate consultations after the US House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the so-called "Armenian genocide" bill Thursday (March 4th).

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the non-binding resolution as impugning his country for a crime it never committed. Ankara had warned that the resolution would harm ties between the two NATO members.

Though the Obama administration, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, had asked the House panel to postpone the vote, members passed the bill by a vote of 23 to 22. It is unclear whether the measure will move to the full House of Representatives for consideration.

The government in Yerevan welcomed the move, as it has long maintained that the murder in 1915 of hundreds of thousands of Armenians amounts to genocide by the Ottoman Empire.