The U.S. and Turkish governments, in separate statements on the call, made no mention of the looming decision on the Armenian genocide recognition. But the White House said Biden told Erdogan he wants to improve the two countries’ relationship and find „effective management of disagreements.“
President Joe Biden spoke with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday as Biden is weighing whether to move forward with a campaign pledge to formally recognize that atrocities committed against the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire more than a century ago were genocide. The U.S. and Turkish governments, in separate statements on the call, made no mention of the looming decision on the Armenian genocide recognition. But the White House said Biden told Erdogan he wants to improve the two countries’ relationship and find “effective management of disagreements.” The two also agreed to hold a bilateral meeting at the NATO summit in Brussels in June. Biden pledged as a candidate to recognize the World War I-era killings and deportations of hundreds of thousands of Armenians in modern day Turkey. He is expected to make the announcement Saturday to coincide with the annual Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day commemoration, according to U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. Officials said Biden could still change his mind, but wanted to speak with Erdogan before formally recognizing the events of 1915 to 1923 as genocide — something past U.
