Demonstrators for the recognition of the Armenian genocide by the United States, April 23, 2021 in Washington. – Graeme Sloan / Sipa USA / SIPA
Joe Biden recognized the Armenian genocide on Saturday, becoming the first President of the United States to qualify the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians massacred by the Ottoman Empire in 1915. “Americans honor all Armenians who perished in the genocide that began 106 years ago today, ”he wrote in a statement.
It is “to honor the victims, not to accuse anyone”, underlined an American official, on condition of anonymity, while Turkey warned in advance any recourse to what it denounces as a “lie”.
“We will not accept lessons from anyone on our history”
Turkey has “no lesson to receive from anyone on its history”, declared the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs at the outset. “Words cannot change or rewrite history,” Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted, moments after US President Joe Biden’s decision was announced. “We will not take lessons from anyone on our history,” he added.
The Armenian Prime Minister, for his part, welcomed the historic decision of Joe Biden. Nikol Pachinian thanked the US president in a Facebook post for this “very strong measure towards justice and historical truth” and which offers “invaluable support to the descendants of the victims of the Armenian genocide”.
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