Turkey recalled its ambassador from the United States Thursday after a US House panel adopted a resolution branding the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as 'genocide', the government said. 'We condemn this resolution which accuses the Turkish nation of a crime it has not committed,' a government statement said. The Foreign Affairs Committee had earlier Thursday narrowly approved the text, opening the door for a vote at the full House of Representatives. 'Following this development, our ambassador to Washington, Namik Tan, was recalled to Ankara for consultations,' the statement said. The outcome of the vote, it said, demonstrates 'a lack of strategic vision' among US lawmakers at a time when Turkey and the United States, long-time NATO allies, 'are working together on a broad common agenda.' 'We are seriously concerned that this bill... will harm Turkish-US relations and impede efforts aimed at normalising Turkish-Armenian ties,' it said. Ankara renewed its position that the World War I massacres of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor of modern Turkey, should be studied by historians on the basis of documents and archives, and not politicians. 'The interventions of politicians in the realm of historians has always produced negative effects,' the statement said, accusing supporters of the resolution of acting 'with political motives.' The non-binding US resolution calls on President Barak Obama to ensure that US foreign policy reflects an understanding of the 'genocide' and to label the killings as such in his annual statement on the issue. Ankara also recalled its envoy from Washington in 2007 when the committee passed a similar text. But then-president George W. Bush stopped the resolution from going to the full House, wary over reports that Ankara would block US access to a key air base essential for Iraq and Afghanistan operations. Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed during World War I by their Ottoman rulers as the empire was falling apart, a claim supported by several other countries. Turkey argues 300,000-500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in what was a civil strife when Armenians rose up for independence and sided with invading Russian troops. Following US-backed bridge-building talks, Turkey and Armenia signed a deal in October to establish diplomatic relations and open their border. But the process has already hit the rocks, with Ankara accusing Yerevan of trying to tweak the terms of the deal and Yerevan charging that Ankara is not committed to ratifying the accord. 