Tuesday, June 15 2021 10:48

ArmInfo.During U.S. President Joe Biden's press conference today at the NATO Summit in Brussels, Belgium, the President stated that he had a "productive" conversation with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.  The Armenian Assembly  of America reports this.

" According to The Wall Street Journal, the Biden Administration's  recognition of the Armenian Genocide was not discussed during the  presidents' bilateral meeting.

In the lead-up to today's meeting between Presidents Biden and  Erdogan, it was widely reported that Erdogan was going to "blast  [Biden] for his recent recognition of the Armenian Genocide," with  national security advisor Jake Sullivan indicating that President  Biden was prepared to talk about the Armenian Genocide.

The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) applauds President  Biden's commitment to America's values and U.S. affirmation of the  Armenian Genocide. President Biden's affirmation of the Armenian  Genocide this April showed America at its best. 

The Assembly remains deeply concerned about the destructive role that  Turkey played during the 44-day war last Fall, launched by Azerbaijan  against the Armenian people amid a pandemic, and the ethnic cleansing  of Armenians from their historic homeland of Artsakh (Nagorno-  Karabakh). The Assembly recalls President Biden's "demand" from last  year that Turkey stay out of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and work  "to prevent interference by third parties, including nation-states  like Turkey."

President Erdogan needs to be judged by his actions and not his  words. He continues to inflame tensions in Artsakh. He is scheduled  to travel to Shushi on June 16, home of the historic Ghazanchetsots  Cathedral - deliberately targeted by Azerbaijani shelling in last  Fall's war - for the groundbreaking of a Grey Wolves school, led by  the Turkish Grey Wolves organization, recently banned in France, and  which is known to be an ultranationalist terrorist group.

Throughout the G7 and NATO summits, President Biden made it plain  that the defense of democracy demands the attention of America and  its allies and partners around the world. It is clear through its  actions domestically and internationally - in Artsakh, Cyprus, Libya,  Syria, and in the Mediterranean Sea - that the authoritarian Erdogan  regime is diametrically opposed to democratic values and the rule of  law. As Secretary Blinken emphasized during his nomination hearing in  the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the U.S. should be clear-eyed  in its current relationship with Turkey and the Assembly urges the  Administration to remain vigilant in this regard," the message of  Assembly notes.

To note, before leaving for Brussels, Erdogan said that it would be  impossible not to mention Biden's decision to recognize the Armenian  Genocide. "We are deeply saddened by this. It is impossible for us  not to raise this issue at the meeting," Erdogan said on Sunday.