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Many were perplexed and outraged when, right after clashing with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a heated Oval Office meeting on November 13, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham blocked a resolution that would have formally recognized Turkey's genocide of the Armenian people.

As Graham was leaving the Oval Office, senior White House staff asked him to return to the Senate and block the Armenian Genocide resolution — a measure that would have infuriated Erdogan, Axios news website reports.

Graham confirmed this in a phone interview on Saturday.

"I said sure," Graham said. "The only reason I did it is because he [Erdoğan] was still in town. ... That would've been poor timing. I'm trying to salvage the relationship if possible."

Asked whether he felt uncomfortable blocking the Armenian Genocide resolution, Graham replied: "Yeah. Because I like Bob [Menendez]. He's been working on this for years, but I did think with the president of Turkey in town that was probably more than the market would bear."

Graham objected to passing the resolution in the Senate, saying senators shouldn't "sugarcoat history or try to rewrite it."

A few days ago, Georgia Senator David Perdue also blocked a Senate vote on the Armenian Genocide resolution, arguing that it is not the right time to take up the legislation.

The resolution passed the House of Representatives in a 405-11 vote. 

Under the Senate's rules, any one senator can ask for consent to pass a bill or resolution, but any one senator can block it.