'US remarks on 1915 kowtowed to lobbyists' demands'

By Burcu Calik Gocumlu

ANKARA (AA) - Rejecting US President Joe Biden's remarks on the event of 1915, Turkey's ​​communications director said on Saturday that in the remarks, US officials ignored history to bow down to the demands of lobbyists.

Due to Washington's attitude, Turkey is facing an “extremely” unfortunate and sad day in its ties with the US, said Fahrettin Altun in a statement.

The US attitude on the events of 1915 is unrelated to historical facts but instead only reflects lobbying activities, he said.

- Turkish stance on 1915 events

Turkey’s position on the events of 1915 is that the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.

Turkey objects to the presentation of these incidents as “genocide,” describing them as a tragedy in which both sides suffered casualties.

Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia as well as international experts to tackle the issue.

In 2014, then-Prime Minister Erdogan expressed condolences to the descendants of Armenians who lost their lives in the events of 1915.