The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the US ambassador to the country due to US President Joe Biden’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sadat Onal told US Ambassador David Satterfield “in the strongest terms” that the statement had no legal basis and that Ankara considered it unacceptable. He said that the statement “caused a deep wound that undermined the mutual trust and friendship between us.”
Biden is the first US president to officially recognize genocide. In a statement distributed by the White House on Saturday, he commemorates the victims of the genocide that began on April 24, 1915. His confession was rejected in Turkey.
The Ottoman authorities deported and killed about 1.5 million Armenians from 1915 to 1917. Official recognition of the genocide remains very sensitive in Turkey. The state denies any targeted genocide.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also refused to fully admit earlier on Saturday. “Nobody needs to tell us anything about our past. This statement is all populist and it undermines relations between countries.” The State Department wrote in a statement that Biden had no legal basis for this ruling. A spokesperson for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the United States should look back on its past.
Armenian Prime Minister Nicole Pasgenian described the recognition as “a strong step towards justice and strong support for the descendants of the victims.” He says he is happy to acknowledge the genocide, also given the recent unrest between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
