Biden’s move to disrupt peace climate, says Turkish defense minister

ANKARA

U.S. President Joe Biden’s description of the 1915 events as genocide may disrupt peace in the region and ties between Turkey and Armenia, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has said.

“Historical events should not be used as a tool of conflict and settling an account; they should not be politicized. It’s clear that such an environment will negatively affect ties between Turkey and Armenia, Turks and Armenians as well the regional peace,” Akar said in a statement on April 26.

Biden used the word “genocide” in an annual commemoration of the mass killings of Ottoman Armenians during World War I. Turkey denounced and rejected Biden’s statement, slamming the U.S. president for distorting the history for political purposes.

Calling on the U.S. administration to correct this mistake, Akar said, “Extracting animosities from history and creating new hostilities are unacceptable and futile.”

Those who use this word should better look at their own history, he said, asking, “This expression was not used before 2020, so what has changed now?”

“This decision is also noteworthy in terms of intellectual ethics. It should be known that history cannot be rewritten through such political statements,” Akar stated, recalling that Turkey has always supported that historical events should be analyzed by historians and not politicians, and expected the same stance from the allies, including the U.S.

Citing some American documents, including a report penned by General Harbord, which highlights the realities over the 1915 events, Akar criticized Washington for ignoring their own archive that does not qualify these incidents as genocide.