White House Sources Indicate Biden's Intention to Recognize Armenian Genocide

The United States administration under President Joe Biden believes it is important to recognize the history surrounding the Armenian Genocide. According to Armenpress, this was stated by a White House spokesperson to the Greek news outlet Kathimerini.

“As a presidential candidate, Biden memorialized the 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children who perished during the final years of the Ottoman Empire. He asserted then that we must never forget or remain silent about this horrific fact. We will always honor the resilience shown by the Armenian people following this great tragedy. This administration is committed to promoting respect for human rights, ensuring that such atrocities never happen again. A crucial aspect of this is the recognition of history,” said the spokesperson in response to a letter initiated by U.S. Senator Robert Menendez and signed by 36 other Democratic and Republican senators.

Menendez reminded Biden in the letter that he had previously acknowledged the Armenian Genocide, including during the 2020 election campaign. “We urge you to do the same now as president, clarifying that the U.S. government recognizes this terrible truth,” the letter stated. The senator also pointed out that in December 2019, the U.S. Senate and in April 2020, the House of Representatives had adopted resolutions recognizing the events of 1915 as the Armenian Genocide. He emphasized that it is time for the executive branch to also acknowledge this historical fact.

Following the spokesperson's comments, political analyst and president of the leading Eurasia Group and global relations coverage at GZERO Media, Ian Bremmer, announced that his White House source indicated that the Biden administration plans to recognize the massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as genocide. In an exclusive video published by GZERO Media, Bremmer addressed the White House spokesperson’s remarks, stating, “One of the White House advisors, in response to my question of whether recognition of the genocide will occur, told me that this is what he (Editor’s Note: Joe Biden) promised as a candidate, and that policy is moving forward. Another White House official, regarding the statement on April 24, Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, told me that Biden is a man of his word. So, it is clear at this moment that he will be the first U.S. president to do this.”

Bremmer noted that undoubtedly this will infuriate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He reminded that U.S.-Turkey relations have not been good recently, particularly due to Ankara's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense systems. “Undoubtedly, the recognition of the genocide will complicate the restoration of Turkish-American relations even further. Ankara will feel more isolated, and on top of that, they are now under significant economic pressure,” he stated.