Turkey’s PM Rejep Tayip Erdogan spoke to CNN while in Washington to attend the Obama administration's summit on nuclear security.
CNN reported that Erdogan is trying to avoid the scrutiny of U.S. lawmakers who recently supported a resolution in the House of Representatives that branded the World War I-era killings of Armenians by Turkey as genocide. After the resolution was passed, Turkey temporarily withdrew its ambassador from Washington.
Erdogan said Turkey cannot accept that the killings were genocide, and he was confident Obama will not use the term either.
"That would be my expectation, because to this day, no American leader has uttered that word, and I believe that President Obama will not," he said.
It’s worth reminding that Obama-Erdogan meeting is supposed to be held today.
It’s important to state that Erdogan is quite mistaken saying that no American leader uttered genocide term, since in 1981 U.S. 40th President Ronald Reagan declared in his April 21 declaration: “Holocaust lessons preceded by Armenian Genocide and followed by Cambodia genocide should never be forgotten.” U.S. President recognized 1915 massacre against Armenians as Genocide.