US Treasury Secretary to lead delegation to Armenian genocide commemoration in Yerevan
22.04.2015,
12:31
The White House announced on Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will lead the U.S. delegation to an Armenian genocide centennial commemoration in Yerevan on Friday, Novosti-Armenia reported referring to RIA Novosti.
YEREVAN, April 22. /ARKA/. The White House announced on Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will lead the U.S. delegation to an Armenian genocide centennial commemoration in Yerevan on Friday, Novosti-Armenia reported referring to RIA Novosti.
This year Armenia is commemorating the centenary of the genocide of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey in 2015. High-ranking officials and delegation from various countries are expected to arrival to pay tribute to the victims of the genocide on April 24.
The US National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said Obama’s Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes received on Tuesday the leaders of the Armenian diaspora in the US.
They said Obama asked Jack Lew to head the delegation to Yerevan to show solidarity with the Armenian people commemorating the centenary of the tragic events, according to Meehan.
The US acknowledge the fact of the mass killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey, yet avoid calling them genocide.
The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the twentieth 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 was recognized by tens 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, 43 U.S. states. It was recognized also by the Vatican, the European Parliament, the World Council of Churches and other international organizations. –0-
