Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday, April 29, that the fact of recognition of the Armenian Genocide by American leader Joe Biden is a manifestation of the “carrot and stick” policy.
“I think that to a greater extent this is the recognition of the genocide by Washington, most likely, this is an integral part of this favorite game of carrot and stick. This is not a desire to sympathize with the Armenian people, not a desire to deeply understand the history of the Ottoman Empire, the history of Armenia, “he said on the air of the Big Game program on Channel One.
Peskov also stressed that this is purely his personal opinion, adds Gazeta.ru.
On April 24, Biden called the events of the early 20th century in the Ottoman Empire an Armenian genocide. His predecessors as president avoided using the term.
The Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II said on the same day that he sent a letter to Biden with gratitude for this recognition.
Russian Senator Alexei Pushkov also said on April 25 that many of Turkey’s NATO allies (Belgium, France, Germany and Poland) had long recognized the fact of the genocide and, although relations had become a little tense, Ankara did not abandon the dialogue.
The head of the Latvian Defense Ministry, Artis Pabriks, said on the same day that the recognition by the United States of the genocide would complicate relations with Turkey in NATO.
On April 26, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the country considers the speech of the American leader inappropriate. According to the Turkish President, Biden made this decision because of “radical initiatives of the Armenian and anti-Turkish circles.”
On the same day, Bloomberg reported that Erdogan wants to suspend an agreement with the United States on cooperation in the field of defense and economics. This agreement is one of the key elements of the countries’ defense cooperation.
Armenian Genocide – mass deportation and extermination of the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War (1914-1918). In particular, in 1915, according to historians, up to 1.5 million Armenians were destroyed. More than 20 countries recognized the fact of genocide. At the same time, Ankara rejects the very term “genocide”. Turkey claims that in those years there was a fratricidal war and each side of the conflict suffered heavy losses.
The Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Genocide in Armenia is annually celebrated on April 24.