WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Top Bush administration officials are shifting into damage-control mode after a House committee narrowly approved a resolution that labels the killings of Armenians in Turkey during World War I as "genocide." The House Foreign Affairs Committee passed the measure 27-21 Wednesday evening, even though President Bush and key figures lobbied hard against it. The Web site of Turkish President Abdullah Gul carried a statement calling the decision "unacceptable," saying it "doesn't fit a major power like the United States." State Department spokesman Sean McCormack issued a statement expressing "regret" for the committee's action, warning the resolution "may do grave harm to U.S.-Turkish relations and to U.S. interests in Europe and the Middle East."
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NEW: Rice to call Turkish leaders to express "deep disappointment" with vote
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House panel approves Armenian genocide resolution with 27-21 vote
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Decision called "unacceptable" in statement on Web site of Turkey's president
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House resolution calls killing of Armenians during World War I "genocide"
But Armenians maintain there was an organized genocide by the @placeholder authorities, and have been campaigning across the world for official recognition of the genocide.
The resolution arrives at a particularly sensitive juncture in U.S.-@placeholder relations.