US President Joe Biden has reportedly informed his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan by telephone that he intended to recognize the 1915 massacre and forced deportation of Armenians as genocide.
The information was transmitted by Reuters, citing sources familiar with the discussion between the two leaders.
Earlier, the State Department announced that tomorrow, Saturday, there will be announcements about the "Armenian Genocide".
Until now, the US government has avoided using the term "genocide". But yesterday, US Deputy Foreign Minister Jalina Porter said: "As for the Armenian Genocide, you can expect an announcement tomorrow."
The Armenian Genocide, recognized by more than twenty countries and many historians, is being challenged by Turkey.
In 2019, the US Senate passed a non-binding decision to recognize the genocide, something that to date no US president has done. At a time like this last year, when he was still a presidential candidate, Joe Biden had pledged in his message to the Armenian Diaspora that he would officially recognize the genocide if he won the election.
Biden-Erdogan phone call
US President Joe Biden reportedly telephoned Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan late last night for their first conversation since taking over the US presidency. The meeting took place a day before today's recognition of the Armenian genocide by Washington, an issue that is expected to sharpen US-Turkish relations. It was not clear whether the US president intended to warn Erdogan in advance.
Pending Biden's statement, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar called on the United States to "refrain from politicizing a dispute between historians." Akar cited the testimony of James Hardbord, a U.S. officer during World War I, to cast doubt on the genocide and recalled a letter Erdogan sent to the Armenian leadership in 2005 regarding the creation of the Armenian of this particular tragedy.
via: e-Daily