Azernews.Az

US Republican presidential hopeful, John McCain, has reaffirmed his position on the alleged "genocide of Armenians." However, in a letter forwarded to the Armenian community in the United States, he did not use the term "genocide."
Armenians term the alleged World War I-era killings of large numbers of their countrymen as genocide, a claim strenuously denied by the modern Turkish state.
McCain said the brutal killings of 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, one of the darkest tragedies of the 20th century, had long been left out of the international limelight.
"We have to acknowledge these tragic developments and guarantee that the world will never again face the consequences of such bloody conflicts," the letter said.
The Armenian community, however, was upset by the fact McCain did not brand the developments as "genocide." Aram Ambarian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), said his organization hoped issues regarding Armenians would be high on the agenda of the Republican candidate while on the campaign trail. "But the abstract letter he sent to us had no reference to the pressing problems facing the Armenian Diaspora in the U.S."
He said America`s Armenian electorate would like to see, as the next president, a politician precisely expressing issues of concern for Armenians. These include the "genocide" issue, the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict and strengthening US-Armenian relations.
McCain`s Democratic rival, Barack Obama, adheres to a contradicting position on the so-called genocide of Armenians. In a recent statement, he defended the Armenian community in the U.S., and called on Turkey to recognize the alleged genocide. He also pointed out the importance of adopting a relevant bill in the US Congress.