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Joe Biden is expected to formally recognize the massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I as an act of genocide, US officials said.
The anticipated move – something Biden had promised to do as a candidate – could further complicate an already tense relationship with Turkish leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. According to an official speaking with the Associated Press, government officials had not notified Turkey as of Wednesday, and Biden was still able to change his mind.
Lawmakers and Armenian-American activists are lobbying Biden to make the announcement on or before Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, which will be marked Saturday.
One possibility is that Biden would include the recognition of genocide in the annual memorial day proclamation usually issued by presidents. Biden’s predecessors avoided the use of “genocide” in the proclamation commemorating the dark moment in history.
Turkey accepts that many Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed during World War I in clashes with Ottoman forces, but disputes the numbers and denies that the killings were systematically orchestrated and amounted to genocide.
A bipartisan group of more than 100 House members signed a letter to Biden on Wednesday calling on him to become the first US president to formally recognize the atrocities as genocide.
“The US government’s embarrassing silence on the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide has lasted too long and must end,” the lawmakers wrote. “We encourage you to fulfill your obligations and speak the truth.”
Turkey’s Foreign Minister has warned the Biden government that recognition would “damage” ties between the US and Turkey.
The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal first reported that Biden is preparing to acknowledge the genocide.
Should Biden go ahead, he will almost certainly face push back from Turkey, which has successfully pushed past presidents to get around the problem.
The relationship between Biden and Erdoğan starts cold. After more than three months of presidency, Biden hasn’t spoken to him yet.
Biden drew ire from Turkish officials during his presidential campaign last year, after an interview with the New York Times in which he spoke of supporting Turkish opposition to “autocrat” Erdoğan. Still, Turkey hoped to restore the relationship. Erdoğan enjoyed a warm relationship with the former Donald Trump, who did not lecture him on the human rights record in Turkey.
“In the past, the arm twisting from Turkey was, ‘Well, we are such a good friend that you have to stay firmly with us in this,’” said Aram Hamparian, the executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America, whose members are a campaign to encourage Biden to recognize the genocide. “But they turn out not to be such a good friend.”
Hamparian said he is hopeful that Biden will continue. He noted that the sting of Barack Obama failing to keep his promise in the 2008 campaign to recognize the Armenian Genocide still lingers for many in the Armenian diaspora.