US President Joe Biden on Saturday recognized the 1915 killings of Armenians by Ottoman forces as genocide, a watershed moment for descendants of the hundreds of thousands of dead as he defied decades of pressure by Turkey. "We remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era Armenian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring," Biden said. "Words cannot change or rewrite history," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted moments after Biden's statement. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan thanked Biden for his "powerful step towards justice and invaluable support to the heirs of the Armenian genocide victims." - Turbulent alliance -The US Congress in 2019 voted overwhelmingly to recognize the Armenian genocide, but the Trump administration made clear that the official US line had not changed.

Source: Mint April 25, 2021 08:54 UTC