With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Obama Faces Dilemma on Armenian Killings

Referring to the killings as genocide could upend recent pledges of a closer partnership with Turkey, a vital U.S. ally in a critical region.

President Obama faces a dilemma as he prepares to issue an annual presidential statement Friday on the World War I-era killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.

Referring to the killings as genocide could upend recent pledges of a closer partnership with Turkey, a vital U.S. ally in a critical region. Steering around the word would break his unequivocal campaign pledges to recognize the killings as genocide.

The decision follows an announcement by Turkey and Armenia on Wednesday that they were nearing a historic reconciliation after years of tension. The Obama administration is wary of upsetting that development and closely coordinated a statement Wednesday about the apparent breakthrough with the Turkish government and Swiss mediators.

Read entire article at Foxnews