U.S. says supports historians’ research on Armenian ‘genocide’
ANKARA – The United States supports the proposal for historians to study the 1915 events in Ottoman Turkey that Armenians claim amounted to genocide, in a bid to normalize strained Turkey-Armenia relations, US ambassador in Ankara Francis Ricciardone has said.
Turkey and Armenia have been at odds for decades. The so-called genocide has been one of the core issues fueling tension between the two countries. Turkey dismisses the "genocide" claims and has repeatedly offered to research the events through a joint commission of historians. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan first made the proposal in 2005.
The US ambassador said there is "a good opportunity" now to step up work on researching the Ottoman-era developments. He added that the commission of historians could include experts not only from Turkey and Armenia but also those from the U.S., France and other countries.
According to historians, from 1915 to 1923, Armenians had begun an uprising. They took up arms against Turkey and assisted Russia, one of Turkey’s enemies in WWI. To counter these actions, the Ottoman Empire decided to resettle the Armenians. However, the latter claim that their predecessors were subjected to genocide in the process.
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