Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday for again characterizing the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Empire forces as a “genocide,” saying the U.S. leader's statement was “based on lies and false information,” ABC news reports
In a televised address following a Cabinet meeting, Erdogan challenged Biden to “learn the history” concerning the Armenians, insisted that such statements were “provoking enmity” between the Turkish and Armenian people and maintained that the Armenian people would suffer the most from the “hypocrisy.”
Biden on Sunday issued a statement commemorating the 107th anniversary of the start of the “Armenian genocide."
The U.S. president had first used the term “genocide” during last year’s anniversary, fulfilling a campaign promise. Past presidents had avoided that word for decades out of a concern that Turkey - a NATO member - could be offended.
“Statements relating to the Armenian claims ... are of no effect to us,” Erdogan said.
“This is how we see the statement of the U.S. president, and we do not even find it worth dwelling on because it is all based on lies and false information.”
Without mentioning his name, Erdogan also referred to Garo Paylan's bill on recognizing the Armenian Genocide submitted to the Turkish parliament. He described the move as "audacity" or "betrayal".
