On the 24th local time, US President Biden issued a written statement stating that the mass killing of Armenians during the Turkish Ottoman Empire in 1915 constituted "genocide." This is the first time that the President of the United States has classified this incident as "genocide." Reuters reported that Biden's statement will further intensify the already tense relationship between the United States and Turkey.
April 24 is the Holocaust Remembrance Day in Armenia. Biden said in this statement that on this day of each year, we must commemorate the people who died in the genocide against Armenia during the Ottoman Empire, and once again promise to ensure that this heinous crime will never happen again.
This is the first time that the President of the United States has classified this incident as "genocide." Previous U.S. presidents before Biden have been careful to avoid using this term, and only use the term "catastrophe" to refer to this event. Biden had a phone conversation with Turkish President Erdogan on the 23rd. Reuters quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that Biden told Erdogan during the phone call that he was prepared to admit that the incident constituted "genocide." However, neither the White House nor Turkey's official reports on the call mentioned this. Reuters noted that Biden had only talked with Erdogan on the phone for the first time more than three months after taking office, saying that this also reflected the indifferent relationship between the United States and Turkey.
Soon after Biden made this statement, a senior White House official told the media that the US government continues to regard Turkey as an important NATO ally and encourages Armenia and Turkey to reach a settlement on historical issues.
According to historical records from Armenia, between 1915 and 1923, the Ottoman Empire implemented a brutal policy of genocide against Armenians, resulting in the death of 1.5 million Armenians. However, the successive governments of Turkey since the establishment of the Republic in 1923 have denied that this incident was a "holocaust" or "genocide", saying that the number of deaths was exaggerated.
