Biden under pressure to recognise Armenian massacre as genocide

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the national economy and the need for his administration’s proposed $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief legislation in the State Dining Room at the White House on 5 February 2021 in Washington, DC. [Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images]

Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill are pressing President Biden to become the first US president to acknowledge the 1915 mass killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as a “genocide” on 24 April when annual commemorations are held around the world, the LA Times reports.

Armenian Americans, including the large diaspora in Southern California, have fought for decades to get the federal government to identify the years-long slaughter during the fall of the Ottoman Empire as a genocide.

Biden is likely going to use the word “genocide” during his speech, the report says.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters yesterday the White House would likely have “more to say” about the issue on Saturday, but declined to elaborate.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said this week that “statements that have no legal binding will have no benefit, but they will harm ties… If the United States wants to worsen ties, the decision is theirs.”

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