WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th April, 2021) US President Joe Biden's recognition of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century should not have come as a surprise considering the former senator's public record on the issue, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.
"There was not and should not have been any surprise. President Biden expressed views that he has held for many, many years and he's been very clear about that," Blinken told reporters during a virtual roundtable ahead of World Press Freedom Day.
The objective of the commemoration was to honor victims not to assign blame, Blinken added.
Blinken emphasized that Biden looks forward to his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and that the US continues to seek strong bilateral relationship with Turkey, including areas of expanded cooperation with its NATO ally.
Biden's statement made on Saturday in observance of Armenia's Remembrance Day has elicited outrage from officials in Ankara, with Erdogan calling Biden's decision regretful and a source telling Sputnik that Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had summoned US Ambassador David Satterfield to voice its opposition to the statement.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Armenians found themselves an increasingly persecuted minority within the ailing Ottoman Empire. In 1915, according to a number of historians, more than 1.5 million Armenians were killed. The events have been recognized as a genocide by the governments and parliaments of over 30 countries. Turkey, which traditionally rejects the genocide accusations, warned the Biden administration that such a move by the US would hurt bilateral relations.
