Biden Becomes First U.S. President to Recognize Armenian Genocide

President Joe Biden on Saturday became the first U.S. president to issue a statement formally recognizing the 1915 massacre of Armenians as a genocide. On April 24, 1915, the arrest of Armenian community leaders in Constantinople by Ottoman authorities began the genocide in which approximately 1.5 million Armenians were deported or killed. “The American people honor all those Armenians who perished in the genocide that began 106 years ago today,” Biden said. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan praised Biden, saying that recognition of the genocide “is important not only in terms of respecting the memory of 1.5 million innocent victims, but also in preventing the repetition of such crimes.” Biden reportedly called Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday to inform him of the decision to make the statement; Turkey's leaders oppose the designation of the event as genocide. The Turkish foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu rejected Biden's statement in a tweet Saturday, saying, "We have nothing to learn from anybody on our own past. Political opportunism is the greatest betrayal to peace and justice." The story received wide coverage across the political spectrum. Some outlets across the spectrum provided analysis regarding how the statement might complicate U.S. relations with Turkey, a NATO member and U.S. ally.