Biden prepared to declare the Armenian massacre a “genocide” that would risk Turkey’s breakup

Biden prepared to declare the Armenian massacre a “genocide” that would risk Turkey’s breakup

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Two people familiar with the decision said the president was expected to make the statement as part of an official statement on Memorial Day, which falls on Saturday. Both said it was possible he would change his mind before then and issue a statement simply acknowledging the event without describing it as genocide.

U.S. officials have also sent signals to allies outside the government who are campaigning for an official statement that the president will recognize the genocide, a third person familiar with the matter said.

The government of Turkey regularly registers complaints when foreign governments describe the event, which began in 1915, with the word ‘genocide’. They claim that it was wartime and that there were losses on both sides, and they put the number of dead Armenians at 300,000.

Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump both avoided using the word genocide not to anger Ankara.

But Biden has stated that relations with Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan – which has deteriorated in recent years – should not prevent the use of a term that would confirm the plight of Armenians more than a century ago. not. a commitment to human rights today.

The White House did not want to comment on the decision on Wednesday. Press secretary Jen Psaki said the government “will have more to say on the anniversary on Saturday.”

The United States and its presidents have consistently avoided using ‘genocide’ to describe the cruelty. But as a candidate, Biden said that, if elected, “I promise to support a resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide and that it will make universal human rights a top priority for my government.”

But similar promises have not been fulfilled before. When Obama elected him president, he stated in a lengthy statement that he shared with Armenian Americans – many of whom are descendants of genocide survivors – a principled commitment to commemorating and ending genocide.

But like presidents before him, the reality of diplomacy intervened as soon as he took office. In all eight years of his presidency, Obama avoided the use of ‘genocide’ when commemorating the April occasion. With Turkey as a key partner in the fight against ISIS terrorists, the matter seemed even less palatable.
In 2019, the Senate passed a resolution formally recognizing the massacres of Armenians from 1915 to 1923 as genocide. The Trump administration asked Republican senators before it began to block the unanimous consent request several times on the grounds that it could undermine negotiations with Turkey.
Trump has sought to cultivate a friendship with Erdogan, even though relations between Washington and Ankara have soured over Turkey’s purchase of a Russian air defense system and alleged human rights violations by Turkish-backed forces in Syria.

Biden has not spoken to Erdoğan since taking office, although the Turkish leader is expected to attend a climate summit of 40 world leaders that Biden convenes on Thursday and Friday.

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