President Joe Biden on Saturday became the first US president to officially recognize the massacre of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire as a genocide, risking a potential fracture with Turkey but signaling a commitment to global human rights.
In a statement marking the 106th anniversary of the massacre’s start, Biden wrote, “Each year on this day, 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.”
“Today, as we mourn what was lost, let us also turn our eyes to the future — toward the world that we wish to build for our children. A world unstained by the daily evils of bigotry and intolerance, where human rights are respected, and where all people are able to pursue their lives in dignity and security,” Biden said.
“Let us renew our shared resolve to prevent future atrocities from occurring anywhere in the world. And let us pursue healing and reconciliation for all the people of the world.”
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Joe Biden a reconnu, samedi, le génocide arménien, une première pour un président des États-Unis. Immédiatement après cette annonce, son homologue turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan a dénoncé "la politisation par des tiers" du débat autour de cette époque de l'Histoire.
Turkey rebuffed the statement immediately, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying the Armenian issue has been “politicized by third parties.” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara “entirely rejects” Biden’s decision and added that the move would “open a deep wound that undermines our mutual trust and friendship” with the US.
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