U.S. Representative for California Ted Lieu has proposed approving the bill on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide in response to Turkish threats against American troops in the Syrian city of Afrin.

Turkey’s Afrin operation, code-named operation Olive Branch, has been heavily criticised.

Addressing a Congress sub-committee session, Lieu called for acknowledging the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide, reminding that the U.S. has failed to do so to preserve relations with Turkey.

Some three dozen countries, hundreds of local government bodies and international organizations have so far recognized the killings of 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

Turkey denies to this day.