The Swedish parliament approved a resolution to recognize the 1915 mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

Historians estimate that as many as 1.5 million Armenians were killed.

The resolution passed with a slim margin, with 131 legislators voting for it, 130 against it, and 88 legislators absent from the voting.

Sweden now joins the numerous countries that have officially recognized the mass killings as genocide.

The countries include Canada, France, Germany, Russia, Lebanon, and Venezuela.

In the United States, 42 states officially recognize the genocide.

Last week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a resolution that recognizes the genocide. However, the Obama administration urged House leadership not to introduce the resolution to a vote in the full house.

We are concerned that possible action that Congress would take would impede the positive momentum that we see in the Turkey-Armenia normalization process, said Secretary of State Clinton last week.

On Thursday, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt echoed the sentiment, saying that the Swedish resolution will unfortunately not have a positive effect on the ongoing normalization process between Turkey and Armenia, according to the Associated Press.

President Obama has been silent on this issue.

However, during his presidential campaign, Obama stated that as President I will recognize the Armenian Genocide.

He added that the Armenian Genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence.

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