Trump avoids ‘genocide’ to note Armenian deaths

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump continued a tradition Monday that has infuriated many Armenian Americans by refusing to use the word “genocide” in describing the killings of more than 1 million Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks.

Trump issued a statement on Monday, the 102nd anniversary of the massacre, commemorating “one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century.”

The language was similar to that of President Barack Obama and other presidents who were concerned with upsetting Turkey, which disputes that a genocide took place, and potentially affecting U.S. policy in the Middle East.

Activists in the U.S. continued to voice frustration over the omission of the word “genocide” in marking events that began in 1915 toward the end of the Ottoman Empire.