ISTANBUL – Turkey yesterday accused the United States of trying to rewrite history, resoundingly rejecting President Joe Biden’s decision to formally recognise the Armenian genocide.
From the streets of the capital here to the halls of power, Turks are united in anger at Biden’s decision to side with Armenia, France, Germany, Russia and numerous other countries in their interpretation of the horrific World War I events.
“Words cannot change or rewrite history,” tweeted Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu moments after Biden announced the decision.
“We will not take lessons from anyone on our history.”
The Foreign Ministry later summoned US Ambassador David Satterfield to express its displeasure, noting that Biden’s decision has caused “a wound in relations that is difficult to repair”, reported the Anadolu state news agency.
Biden became the first US president to use the word “genocide” in a customary statement on the anniversary of the 1915-17 massacre, which happened as the Ottoman Empire unravelled.
Trying to soften the inevitable blow to the pride of the strategic Nato ally, he placed the first phone call since his election to his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Friday.
The two leaders agreed to meet on the sidelines of a Nato summit in June, and Erdogan – who has spent his 18 years in power trying to fight the US decision – carefully calibrated the weight of his response.
In a message to the Armenian patriarch here, he accused “third parties” of trying to politicise the century-old debate.
“Nobody benefits from the debates – which should be held by historians – being politicised by third parties and becoming an instrument of interference in our country.”
On a more conciliatory note, he said Turkey is “ready to develop our relations with Armenia based on good neighbourhood and mutual respect”.
But, the message from the Foreign Ministry was strident.
“We reject and denounce in the strongest terms the statement of the president of the US regarding the events of 1915 made under the pressure of radical Armenian circles and anti-Turkey groups,” it said in a separate statement.
“It is clear that the said statement does not have a scholarly and legal basis, nor is it supported by any evidence.”
The Armenians, supported by many historians and scholars, say 1.5 million of their people died in a genocide committed under the Ottoman Empire, which was fighting tsarist Russia in areas that include present-day Armenia.
Turkey accepts that both Armenians and Turks died in huge numbers during WWI, but vehemently denies that there was a deliberate policy of genocide – a term that was not legally defined at the time.
Turkey puts the Armenian death toll at around 300,000. – AFP, April 25, 2021
