The language to define the Ottoman-era killings of Armenians should be the task of Turks and Armenians, U.S. President Barack Obama said yesterday in Parliament language that skirted the emotional word "genocide."
The question of labeling history came up first in Obama's news conference with counterpart Abdullah Gul, in response to a query noting his well-known campaign promise to support a U.S. congressional resolution that would do just that. Obama responded that his views "have not changed," but he then noted the ongoing progress that both Turkey and Armenia have made in recent months toward reconciliation and offered effusive praise for this example.
"My views are on the record, and I have not changed those views. What I have been very encouraged by is news that under President Gul's leadership you are seeing a series of negotiations, a process in place between Armenia and Turkey to resolve a whole host of long standing issues including this one," Obama told a joint news conference at the Cankaya presidential palace.
The U.S. leader stressed to "not focus on my views right now but focus on the views of the Turkish and Armenian people" when he was insistently asked if he changed his views. He urged the world to encourage the ongoing peace talks between Turkey and Armenia. Later addressing Parliament, as if sensing the hypersensitivity to the topic, Obama said, "I know there are strong feelings on this issue in the chamber." There he used the term "the events of 1915" and went on to describe America's own troubled history, including slavery and the sufferings of Native Americans. All countries, he said in language likely to fall short of what many Armenians in the United States are demanding to hear, must come to terms their history.
During his election campaign, Obama had pledged to recognize the Armenian claims, a move Turkey saw as a risk that will poison bilateral relations with the United States as well as ongoing efforts for reconciliation between Ankara and Yerevan.
Turkish and Armenian officials have been holding high-level talks for a while to normalize ties, and the two sides are close to announcing a deal aimed at reopening their border and restoring relations, it was reported earlier. The announcement of the deal could give Turkey an upper hand in the run-up to April 24, a commemoration day by Armenians for the 1915 killings, for which U.S. presidents issue letters of respect that have so far refrained from including the word "genocide."
"I want to be as encouraging as possible around those negotiations, which could bear fruit very quickly, very soon," Obama told the news conference with the Turkish president. That statement was seen as a strong indicator of major progress in Turkish-Armenian ties, showing that Turkish officials briefed Obama about the rapprochement plan. For his part, Gul reiterated the Turkish government
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