Redefining the U S -Turkey Relationship carnegieeurope.eu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from carnegieeurope.eu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In his statement commemorating the Armenian Remembrance Day on April 24, President Joe Biden said, “We honor their story. We see that pain. We affirm the history. We do this not to cast blame but to ensure that what happened is never repeated.” Biden’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide, following similar steps by the House of Representatives and Senate in 2019, has strained U.S.-Turkish ties even further at a time when bilateral relations are at an all-time low. Although there is little room for reconciling Washington’s and Ankara’s conflicting takes on history, cultural heritage diplomacy offers the Biden administration a positive agenda to engage receptive stakeholders in Turkey to strengthen pluralism and social inclusion.
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
For more than seven decades, Turkey and the U.S. have been allies cherishing common values and sharing responsibilities in maintaining peace and stability in the Transatlantic area and beyond. There have been disagreements, but we were able to work through them based on mutual respect as regards each other’s national interests and sensitivities.
President Biden’s statement on Armenian Remembrance Day constitutes, however, not only a stark contrast with the spirit of alliance, but also a gross distortion of historical facts, doing a grave injustice to Turkey’s constructive efforts so far. For decades, successive U.S. administrations did not give in to the pressures of the Armenian lobby. What happened now is an outright abuse of such a delicate historical and legal matter for political purposes.
U S and Turkey need to focus on real issues of national and international importance washingtontimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtontimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.