The Washington Post said that US President Joe Biden, through his admission that the events against Armenians in 1915 during the Ottoman era were "genocide," estimated that this would be relatively the easiest way for him to begin reorganizing his approach in the fields of foreign policy and rights. The human.

The newspaper stated - in a report by the journalist specializing in international affairs, Miriam Burger - that several American presidents, including former presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama, avoided using this description in order not to anger Turkey, a strategic ally of Washington and an important member of the nearby NATO alliance. From the Middle East and adjacent to Russia, who was also involved in efforts to fight ISIS.

Biden announced on Saturday - during the commemoration ceremony for the anniversary of the events of 1915 - that that year witnessed a "genocide" of Armenians, saying that "the American people honor all those Armenians who died in the genocide that took place 106 years ago from today ... We mentioned why." The Armenians exposed him to his aim to ensure that what happened would not be repeated, and not to place the blame. "

The newspaper pointed out that the Armenians commemorate on April 24 of each year the memory of these events, during which they say that about 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Empire during the First World War and describe it as a "genocide", a phrase that Turkey rejects and the United States refuses to use. For decades.

According to the newspaper, historians estimate that a number of Armenian Christians were killed during the massacres and deportation campaigns that he witnessed in 1915, and many of them use the term "genocide" to describe those events, but Turkey, the heir to the Ottoman Empire in the modern era, rejects this claim.

Although some of the Turkish leaders who succeeded in power did not deny the occurrence of some atrocities, they assert that the killings and persecution that took place were not to the degree claimed by Armenia and its supporters.

Turkey also says - according to the newspaper - that about 300 thousand Armenians died during the First World War as a result of the civil war and internal unrest that led to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and that in addition to the Christian Armenians, many Muslim Turks were also killed during that period.

Turkish warnings

Ankara has repeatedly warned Washington that changing its stance on these events will threaten US-Turkish relations and common interests between the two countries, including an agreement that allows Washington access to the Incirlik military base in the south of the country.

Turkey often complains - the newspaper adds - when other countries (about 20 countries) use the term "genocide", including France and Canada, while key allies of Washington - such as Britain and Israel - do not.

In 2019, the US Congress passed a resolution describing the killings as "genocide," which angered Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but former President Donald Trump officially rejected the decision.

President Obama also pledged to recognize the "genocide" of Armenians when he ran for the first time in 2008, but by the end of his eight years in office, he had still not fulfilled his promise.

Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security advisor in the Obama administration, said - in an interview with him in 2018 - that “every year there was a reason not to do that (the recognition) .. Turkey was vital to some of the issues that we were dealing with on it, or there was a parallel dialogue. It is taking place between the Turks and the Armenian government over their common past. "