Biden speaks to Erdogan as genocide question looms
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden spoke with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday as Biden prepared to move forward with a campaign pledge to formally recognize that atrocities committed against the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire more than a century ago were genocide.
The U.S. and Turkish governments, in separate statements on the call, made no mention of the looming decision on the Armenian genocide recognition. But the White House said Biden told Erdogan he wants to improve the two countries’ relationship and find “effective management of disagreements.” The two also agreed to hold a bilateral meeting at the NATO summit in Brussels in June.
Biden pledged as a candidate to recognize the World War I-era killings and deportations of hundreds of thousands of Armenians in modern day Turkey. He is expected to make the announcement Saturday to coincide with the annual Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day commemoration, according to U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
Officials said Biden wanted to speak with Erdogan before formally recognizing the events of 1915 to 1923 as genocide — something past U.S. presidents had avoided out of concern about damaging relations with Turkey.
Friday’s call between the two leaders was the first since Biden took office more than three months ago. The delay had become a worrying sign in Ankara; Erdogan had good rapport with former President Donald Trump and had been hoping for a reset despite past friction with Biden.
Erdogan on Friday reiterated his longrunning claims that the U.S. is supporting Kurdish fighters in Syria who are affiliated with the Iraqbased Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the PKK. In recent years, Turkey has launched military operations against PKK enclaves in northern Iraq and against U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish fighters. The State Department has designated the PKK as a terrorist organization but has argued with Turkey over the group’s ties to the Syrian Kurds.