London, England (CNN) - Turkey has reacted angrily to a U.S. congressional panel decision to pass a resolution calling the 1915 killing of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey a genocide.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was deeply saddened by bill.

Turkey recalled its envoy to the United States and condemned the narrow 23-22 vote in favor by the House Foreign Affairs Committee recommending that the US recognize the killings as genocide.

Here two experts on Turkey – Dr Katerina Dalacoura, lecturer in International Relations at the London School of Economics andFadi Hakura, Turkey Analyst at Chatham House, a London-based think tank - explain why this is such an emotional issue for the country.

Why is this a sensitive issue for Turkey?

Dalacoura: It has always been a sensitive issue... Turkey has always refused to accept that it was a planned event. They argue that genocide only applies if it was a plan to exterminate people.

Hakura: Turkey says "yes, Armenians did die," but disputes the historical definition as a genocide... It says they died in war, of disease, from the general chaos at the time, but the deaths were not part of a deliberate systematic plan to eliminate the Armenians. They say that intention is an important part of genocide.

Why did the House Foreign Affairs Committee vote on this now?

Hakura: On April 24 each year the president of the U.S. makes a traditional statement commemorating the 1915 killings and I suspect the timing of this is related to that.

Could this harm US-Turkey relations?

Hakura: If the resolution was passed then it could cause lasting damage... although this is not the first time the two countries have been through this. In 2007 the recommendation vote was 27-21 so the vote has narrowed this time. Hillary Clinton (U.S. secretary of state) says that passing the resolution would damage U.S./Turkey relations, although I think this is a fig leaf and the real reason is U.S. national security. Turkey is militarily important to the U.S.... it has a military base at Incirlik and in February several senior defense staff signed a letter asking for the resolution to be withdrawn.

Dalacoura: U.S.-Turkey relations have been going through a relative low in the last few years... there is less warmth in the relationship, but the relationship has been strong for a decade and is very strong on a variety of issues and Turkey will deal with it now.

Do any countries recognize the killing of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey in 1915 as genocide?

Hakura: Twenty countries do, including France, Germany, Sweden and Canada. Ronald Reagan in 1981 is the only U.S. president who asked for the killings to be called a genocide.

What is the public opinion in Turkey regarding the Armenian massacre?

Dalacoura: Relations between the military and the government is the key issue for many Turks, I think this (Armenia massacre) is a secondary issue.

Hakura: Turkey is becoming more and more liberal... genocide is no longer a taboo word when it comes to talking about Armenia and things have been progressing, but the population does not like foreign powers defining their history, it generates a lot of misgivings.

Could this reverse the tentative measures Turkey and Armenia have taken to normalize relations?

Dalacoura: It depends on how profound the event is... although it is one of many events. The relationship with Turkey is a new one and the Turkish government has invested in it.

Filed under: Armenians •Turkey •U.S.

(CNN) - Tensions between Israel and Turkey spilled into a second day Tuesday when Turkish officials summoned the Israeli ambassador to a meeting, Turkey's Anatolia news agency reported.

Israel criticized Turkey Monday for a Turkish television series that it said depicted Israeli intelligence agents as baby-snatchers.

When asked about Tuesday's meeting between Israeli Ambassador Gabby Levy and Turkish officials, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said it was pre-planned.

That session came one day after Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon summoned the Turkish ambassador to complain about the television show that Israel found offensive, a spokesman for Ayalon said.

Afterward, Ayalon tweeted that he had "Told Turk Amb that this is an intolerable situation which endangers the Jewish community, the Israel envoys and tourists coming to Turkey."

Several senior Israeli Foreign Ministry sources, who didn't want to be named because it would jeopardize their jobs, criticized Ayalon's treatment of Turkish Ambassador Ahmet Oguz Celikkol at the start of their meeting Monday. At the session, Celikkol was seated below Ayalon.

With cameras rolling, Ayalon turned to the television crews and said, "The main thing is that you see that he is seated low and that we are high ... that there is one flag on the table (the Israeli flag) and that we are not smiling."

The sources told CNN they were "surprised by Ayalon's undiplomatic behavior."

Ceylon Ozen, spokeswoman for the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv, told CNN that Celikkol felt his treatment was "unacceptable, shocking and primitive," and did not comply with standards for diplomacy. He has contacted the Israeli ambassador to Turkey and requested a formal apology from the Israelis, she said.

There had been media speculation that Ayalon's summons was designed to sabotage a trip to Ankara Sunday by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. A spokesman for Ayalon said that was "completely wide of the mark."

Barak's office said he had no plans to cancel his trip. Read full article

Filed under: Israel •Turkey

CNN's Ivan Watson reports from Turkey on the soccer game that could bring Turkey and Armenia closer together.

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Filed under: Turkey •Video

Ivan Watson reports on one Turkish taxi driver's mission to catalog his city's poorest.

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MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images. Turkish oil wrestlers compete during the 648th historical Kirkpinar oilwrestling tournament held every year in Sarayici, near Edirne, on July 05, 2009. In Kirkpinar wrestling, contestants are drenched in olive oil from head to toe, are stripped to the waist, and wear specially designed leather trousers. The one-on-one combats staged every summer closely resemble the first ones held nearly 650 years ago.Three tons are of olive oil are consumed each year.

MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images. Turkish oil wrestlers fight during the 648th historical Kirkpinar oilwrestling tournament held every year in Sarayici, near Edirne, on July 5, 2009.

MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images. Turkish oil wrestlers fight during the 648th historical Kirkpinar oilwrestling tournament held every year in Sarayici, near Edirne, on July 5, 2009.

MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images. Turkish oil wrestlers fight during the 648th historical Kirkpinar oilwrestling tournament held every year in Sarayici, near Edirne, on July 5, 2009.

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Filed under: Sports •Turkey

US President Obama visited Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country, on the last announced stop of his first international trip as US President. CNN's Ivan Watson looks at the ancient city of Istanbul and its people as they welcome the American President."

Ivan Watson report. Click here to watch.

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Getty Images. US President Barack Obama (L) attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey on April 6, 2009 in Ankara, Turkey. Obama is on a two-day visit to Turkey to revitalise links between Turkey and the United States and he has vocalised his support for the country's efforts to join the European Union.

Getty Images. Turkish President Abdullah Gul (R) and U.S. President Barack Obama shake hands during a welcoming ceremony in the courtyard of the Cankaya Presidential Palace on April 6, 2009 in Istanbul, Turkey.

DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images. A Turkish protestor shouts slogans and holds a banner reading 'Obama go home' during a demonstration against upcoming visit of US President Barack Obama in Istanbul on April 5, 2009.

GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images. The head of the Roman Catholic Church in the Holy Land, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fuad Twal, leads the Palm Sunday procession at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City on April 05, 2009. The ceremony is a landmark in the Roman Catholic calendar, marking the triumphant return of Christ to Jerusalem the week before his death, when a cheering crowd greeted him waving palm leaves. Palm Sunday marks the start of the most solemn week in the Christian calendar.

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images. Catholic clergymen take part in the traditional Palm Sunday procession from Mt. Olives to Jerusalem's old city on April 5, 2009.

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images.Catholic nuns take part in the traditional Palm Sunday procession from Mt. Olives to Jerusalem's old city on April 5, 2009.

MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images. Palestinian children wear Kefiyeh, traditional Arab scarf, during a rally in Gaza City to mark the Palestinian children day on April 05, 2009. Former international prosecutor Richard Goldstone will lead a broadened human rights probe into violence during Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip, the UN said on April 3. Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza, killed more than 1,300 Palestinians, nearly a third of them children, and injured 5,300 others, according to Gaza medics.

MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images.Palestinian children attend a rally in Gaza City to mark the Palestinian children day on April 05, 2009.

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Filed under: Obama •Pictures •Turkey

By the looks of this TV ad campaign for a Turkish bank, Barack Obama is expected to get a warm welcome in Turkey, on his first presidential visit to a Muslim country. CNN's Ivan Watson reports.

Ivan Watson reports. Click here to watch

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Local elections in Turkey are seen as a referendum on Turkey's PM and are marred by violence. CNN's Ivan Watson reports.

Ivan Watson reports. Click here to watch.

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Filed under: CNN Coverage •Elections •Turkey •Video

Ahead of the upcoming local elections in Turkey, Turkey's prime minister, Racep Tayyib Erdogan, the most polarizing Turkish politician in a generation, opens his election campaign to CNN.
Ivan Watson Reports.

Ivan Watson reports. Click here to watch

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Filed under: CNN Coverage •Turkey