Joe Biden has broken with his predecessors and called the mass murder of Armenians a century ago in what is now Turkey a genocide, in an announcement likely to cause further friction between Washington and Ankara.
Discussing the announcement, which was released by the White House to mark Armenian Remembrance Day, a senior administration official said the recognition was intended to “honour the victims” and not “assign blame”.
Turkey lashed out at what is largely a symbolic measure, with the foreign ministry warning that it “will open a deep wound that undermines our mutual trust and friendship” and called on the US president to “correct this grave mistake.”