Turkey summons U.S. ambassador over Biden's populist move on 1915 events
The Turkish foreign minister on Saturday summoned the US ambassador to protest President Joe Biden's decision to recognize the so-called Armenia genocide. The ministry had earlier said, "we reject and denounce in the strongest terms the statement of the president of the US regarding the events of 1915".
- World
- Agencies and A News
- Published Date: 12:54 | 25 April 2021
- Modified Date: 01:05 | 25 April 2021
Turkey's foreign ministry said it summoned the U.S. Ambassador to Ankara over President Joe Biden's recognition of the 1915 events during the Ottoman Empire period as "so-called Armenian genocide", adding it had conveyed Turkey's "strong reaction".
Biden said on Saturday that the 1915 events constituted genocide, a biased populist move that infuriated Turkey and further strained frayed ties between the two NATO allies.
In a statement, the ministry said deputy foreign minister Sedat Önal had told U.S. Ambassador David Satterfield that the statement had no legal basis and that Ankara "rejected it, found it unacceptable and condemned in the strongest terms". It said the statement had caused a "wound in ties that will be hard to repair".