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Fulfilling promise, Biden recognizes massacre of Armenians as genocide

President Biden鈥檚 recognition of the killings as 鈥済enocide鈥� marks a shift from predecessors who avoided the term to avoid alienating NATO ally Turkey.

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President Joe Biden has formally recognized that the systematic killings and deportations of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by Ottoman Empire forces in the early 20th century were 鈥済enocide鈥澛犫�� using a term for the atrocities that his White House predecessors have avoided for decades over concerns of alienating Turkey.

With the acknowledgement, Mr. Biden followed through on a campaign promise he made a year ago Saturday聽鈥� the annual commemoration of Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day聽鈥� to recognize that the events of 1915 to 1923 were a deliberate effort to wipe out Armenians.

While previous presidents have offered somber reflections of the dark moment in history via remembrance day proclamations, they have studiously avoided using the term genocide out of concern that it would complicate relations with Turkey聽鈥� a NATO ally and important power in the Middle East.

But Mr. Biden campaigned on a promise to make human rights a central guidepost of his foreign policy. He argued when making the campaign pledge last year that failing to call the atrocities against the Armenian people a genocide would pave the way for future mass atrocities. An estimated 2 million Armenians were deported and 1.5 million were killed in the events known as Metz Yeghern.

鈥淭he American people honor all those Armenians who perished in the genocide that began 106 years ago today,鈥� Mr. Biden said聽.聽鈥淲e affirm the history. We do this not to cast blame but to ensure that what happened is never repeated.鈥�

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu immediately criticized Mr. Biden鈥檚 statement.

鈥淲ords cannot change history or rewrite it,鈥� he said in a tweet. 鈥淲e will not be given lessons on our history from anyone. Political opportunism is the biggest betrayal of peace and justice. We completely reject this statement that is based on populism. #1915Events鈥�

During a telephone call Friday, Mr. Biden informed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of his plan to issue the statement, said a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to publicly discuss the private conversation and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The U.S. and Turkish governments, in separate statements following Mr. Biden and Mr. Erdogan鈥檚 call, made no mention of the American plan to recognize the Armenian genocide. But the White House said Mr. Biden told Mr. Erdogan he wants to improve the two countries鈥� relationship and find 鈥渆ffective management of disagreements.鈥� The two also agreed to hold a bilateral meeting at the NATO summit in Brussels in June.

In Armenia on Saturday, people streamed to the hilltop complex in Yerevan, the capital, that memorializes the victims. Many laid flowers around the eternal flame, creating a wall of blooms 2 meters (7 feet) high.

Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Avet Adonts, speaking at the memorial before Mr. Biden issued his statement, said a U.S. president using the term genocide would 鈥渟erve as an example for the rest of the civilized world.鈥�

Mr. Biden鈥檚 call with Mr. Erdogan was his first since taking office more than three months ago. The delay had become a worrying sign in Ankara; Mr. Erdogan had good rapport with former President Donald Trump and had been hoping for a reset despite past friction with Mr. Biden.

Mr. Erdogan reiterated his long-running claims that the U.S. is supporting Kurdish fighters in Syria who are affiliated with the Iraq-based Kurdistan Workers鈥� Party, known as the PKK. The PKK has led an insurgency against Turkey for more than three decades. In recent years, Turkey has launched military operations against PKK enclaves in Turkey and in northern Iraq and against U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish fighters. The State Department has designated the PKK a terrorist organization but has argued with Turkey over the group鈥檚 ties to the Syrian Kurds.

According to the Turkish government statement after the call, Mr. Erdogan also raised concerns about the presence in the United States of cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is accused by Turkey of orchestrating a failed 2016 coup attempt. Mr. Gulen, who has lived in Pennsylvania since the late 1990s, denies involvement in the coup.

Mr. Biden, during the campaign, drew ire from Turkish officials after an interview with The New York Times in which he spoke about supporting Turkey鈥檚 opposition against 鈥渁utocrat鈥� Mr. Erdogan. In 2019, Mr. Biden accused Mr. Trump of betraying U.S. allies, following Trump鈥檚 decision to withdraw troops from northern Syria, which paved the way for a Turkish military offensive against the Syrian Kurdish group. In 2014, when he was vice president, Mr. Biden apologized to Mr. Erdogan after suggesting in a speech that Turkey helped facilitate the rise of the Islamic State group by allowing foreign fighters to cross Turkey鈥檚 border with Syria.

Lawmakers and Armenian American activists have been lobbying Mr. Biden to make the genocide announcement on or before remembrance day.

Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, praised Biden for following through on the pledge.

鈥淔or Armenian-Americans and everyone who believes in human rights and the truth, today marks an historic milestone: President Biden has defied Turkish threats and recognized the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians for what it was聽鈥� the first genocide of the 20th Century,鈥� Mr. Schiff said in a statement.

Salpi Ghazarian, director of the University of Southern California鈥檚 Institute of Armenian Studies, said the recognition of genocide would resonate beyond Armenia and underscore Mr. Biden鈥檚 seriousness about respect for human rights as a central principle in his foreign policy.

鈥淲ithin the United States and outside the United States, the American commitment to basic human values has been questioned now for decades,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is very important for people in the world to continue to have the hope and the faith that America鈥檚 aspirational values are still relevant, and that we can in fact do several things at once. We can in fact carry on trade and other relations with countries while also calling out the fact that a government cannot get away with murdering its own citizens.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press. Matthew Lee reported from Washington, and Zeynep Bilginsoy from Istanbul.