US Welcomes Turkish Pm's Armenia 1915 Announcement

The U.S. has welcomed a recent statement by the Turkish Prime Minister in which he offered condolences to the descendants of Armenians killed during World War I.



"We welcome Prime Minister Erdogan's historic public acknowledgement of the suffering that Armenians experienced in 1915," said Jen Psaki, the State Department spokeswoman. "We believe this is a positive indication that there can be a full, frank and just acknowledgement of the facts, which we hope will advance the cause of reconciliation between Turks and Armenians."



Exactly what unfolded in 1915 continues to be a contentious issue between Turkey and Armenia that has proven a spoiler in relations between the two neighbors. 



Armenia and the Armenian diaspora claim that nothing short of genocide occurred at the hands of Ottoman authorities under a deportation order of a part of the ethnic Armenians in the then-empire. But Turkey says that both Turks and Armenians died during clashes between Ottoman forces and armed Armenian groups backed by Russia.  



Earlier Wednesday Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, released a statement in nine languages, including Armenian, in which he termed the events of 1915 as "inhumane."



englishnews@aa.com.tr - Washington DC