Trump administration refuses to back recognition of Armenian genocide
18.12.2019,
10:28
US President Donald Trump's administration has rejected a US Senate resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide, news agencies reported.
YEREVAN, December 18. /ARKA/. US President Donald Trump's administration has rejected a US Senate resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide, news agencies reported. They said the Senate measure was rejected by the State Department on Tuesday, with a spokesperson for the department indicating that US position on the matter did not change.
"The position of the Administration has not changed," said spokesperson Morgan Ortagus, in a statement to The Hill. "Our views are reflected in the President's definitive statement on the issue from last April." The US Senate had passed a resolution unanimously last week to recognize the Armenian genocide as a matter of foreign policy, in a rare showing of bipartisanship on a deeply divisive issue and in spite of the Trump administration's objections.
It marked the first time that the US Congress had formally designated the 1915 killings of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire as a genocide. The Senate vote came after the House approved the measure last month.
In its statement, the State Department pointed to Trump's 24 April comments, which fell on the Global Armenian Remembrance Day. During his statement, Trump recognized that over a million and a half Armenians were "deported, massacred or marched to their deaths" under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.
The Armenian Genocide is the first genocide of the 20th century. According to Armenian and many other historians, up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed starting in 1915 in a systematic campaign by the government of Turkey. Turkey has been denying it for decades.
The Armenian genocide has been recognized by dozens of countries. The first was Uruguay that did so in 1965. Other nations are Russia, France, Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Canada, Venezuela, Argentina, Portugal 49 U.S. states, except for the State of Mississippi. It has been recognized also by the Vatican, the European Parliament, the World Council of Churches and other international organizations. -0-
"The position of the Administration has not changed," said spokesperson Morgan Ortagus, in a statement to The Hill. "Our views are reflected in the President's definitive statement on the issue from last April." The US Senate had passed a resolution unanimously last week to recognize the Armenian genocide as a matter of foreign policy, in a rare showing of bipartisanship on a deeply divisive issue and in spite of the Trump administration's objections.
It marked the first time that the US Congress had formally designated the 1915 killings of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire as a genocide. The Senate vote came after the House approved the measure last month.
In its statement, the State Department pointed to Trump's 24 April comments, which fell on the Global Armenian Remembrance Day. During his statement, Trump recognized that over a million and a half Armenians were "deported, massacred or marched to their deaths" under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.
The Armenian Genocide is the first genocide of the 20th century. According to Armenian and many other historians, up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed starting in 1915 in a systematic campaign by the government of Turkey. Turkey has been denying it for decades.
The Armenian genocide has been recognized by dozens of countries. The first was Uruguay that did so in 1965. Other nations are Russia, France, Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Canada, Venezuela, Argentina, Portugal 49 U.S. states, except for the State of Mississippi. It has been recognized also by the Vatican, the European Parliament, the World Council of Churches and other international organizations. -0-
