Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan criticized U.S. President Joe Biden on April 25 for his statements on the events of 1915, saying the U.S. leader’s statement was “based on lies and false information.”
In a televised address following a Cabinet meeting, Erdoğan challenged Biden to “learn the history” concerning the Armenians, insisted that such statements were “provoking enmity” between the Turkish and Armenian people and maintained that the Armenian people would suffer the most from the “hypocrisy.”
Biden on Sunday issued a statement commemorating the 107th anniversary of the start of the “Armenian genocide.”
The U.S. president had first used the term during last year’s anniversary, fulfilling a campaign promise. Past presidents had avoided that word for decades out of a concern that Turkey– a NATO member- could be offended.
“Statements relating to the Armenian claims … are of no effect to us,” Erdoğan said. “This is how we see the statement of the U.S. president, and we do not even find it worth dwelling on because it is all based on lies and false information.”
Turkey’s position on the events of 1915 is that the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.
Turkey objects to the presentation of these incidents as “genocide,” describing them as a tragedy in which both sides suffered casualties.
Hurriyet Daily News