Turkey rages as Biden formally recognises Armenian genocide

ISTANBUL • Turkey has accused the United States of trying to rewrite history, resoundingly rejecting US President Joe Biden's decision to formally recognise the Armenian genocide.

From the streets of Istanbul to the halls of power, Turks were united in anger over the weekend at Mr Biden's decision to side with Armenia, France, Germany, Russia and numerous other countries in their interpretation of the horrific World War I events.

"Words cannot change or rewrite history," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted moments after Mr Biden announced his decision.

"We will not take lessons from anyone on our history."

The Turkish foreign ministry summoned US Ambassador David Satterfield to express its displeasure, noting that Mr Biden's move caused "a wound in relations that is difficult to repair", the Anadolu state news agency reported.

Mr Biden became the first US president to use the word genocide in a customary statement on the 106th anniversary of the 1915 to 1917 massacre, which happened amid the unravelling of the Ottoman Empire.

Trying to soften the inevitable blow to the pride of the strategic Nato ally, Mr Biden last Friday placed the first phone call since his election to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The two leaders agreed to meet on the sidelines of a Nato summit in June, and Mr Erdogan - who has spent his 18 years in power trying to fight the US decision - carefully calibrated the weight of his response.

In a message to the Armenian Patriarch in Istanbul, Bishop Sahak Mashalian, Mr Erdogan accused "third parties" of trying to politicise the century-old debate.

"Nobody benefits from the debates - which should be held by historians - being politicised by third parties and becoming an instrument of interference in our country," Mr Erdogan wrote.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had hailed Mr Biden's recognition of the Armenian genocide on Saturday.

In a post on Facebook, Mr Pashinyan thanked Mr Biden for "the powerful step towards justice and historical truth, and invaluable support for the descendants of the Armenian genocide victims".

The recognition sets "an encouraging example for all those who want to build a just and tolerant international society", Mr Pashinyan said.

On a more conciliatory note, Mr Erdogan said Turkey was "ready to develop our relations with Armenia based on good neighbourhood and mutual respect".

But the message from Turkey's foreign ministry was strident.

"We reject and denounce in the strongest terms the statement of the President of the US regarding the events of 1915 made under the pressure of radical Armenian circles and anti-Turkey groups," it said in a separate statement.

"It is clear that the said statement does not have a scholarly and legal basis, nor is it supported by any evidence."

The Armenians, supported by many historians and scholars, say 11/2 million of their people died in a genocide committed under the Ottoman Empire, which was fighting Tsarist Russia in areas that include present-day Armenia.

While Turkey accepts that both Armenians and Turks died in huge numbers during World War I, it denies vehemently that there was a deliberate policy of genocide - a term that had not been legally defined at the time.

Turkey puts the Armenian death toll at around 300,000.

Ordinary Turks said Mr Biden's recognition of the genocide underscored the troubled nature of Ankara's current relationship with Washington that had once benefited from Mr Erdogan's personal friendship with former US president Donald Trump.

Istanbul resident Dilek Mercin said: "It's a very bad step. Our relationship is already really bad with the US... this will only worsen it."

Mr Biden's recognition of the Armenian genocide has also been met by tempered satisfaction from the nation's diaspora in the US, with some saying the words need to result in more pressure against Turkey.

"It's a middle step, because (Biden) didn't say Turkey," said Ms Yvette Gevorkian, who was among some 400 people who marched in New York City to mark the memory of the World War I-era killings.

"But it's a victory for all this time we've been working towards (recognition)," added the 51-year-old, who arrived in the US from Iran at the age of nine.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE