SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The United States will close its embassy and consulates in Turkey for two days as part of precautionary measures, following the U.S. decision to recognize 1915 Armenian massacre as genocide.
Biden became the first U.S. president to use the word genocide in a customary statement on the anniversary of the 1915 to 1917 massacre, which happened as the Ottoman Empire unraveled.
In a statement on Sunday, the U.S. embassy cited possible protests or demonstrations in Turkey over Biden’s decision.
“As a precautionary measure, the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul, the U.S. Consulate in Adana, and the U.S. Consular Agency in Izmir will be closed for routine American Citizen and visa services on Monday, April 26 and Tuesday, April 27,” the embassy said.
“U.S. citizens are advised to avoid the areas around U.S. government buildings, and exercise heightened caution in locations where Americans or foreigners may gather,” it added.
It called on the U.S. citizens to exercise caution and remain vigilant, and avoid crowds.
On Saturday, the Turkish foreign ministry summoned U.S. ambassador David Satterfield to express Turkey’s displeasure over the decision to recognize Armenia’s massacre as genocide.
“We reject and denounce in the strongest terms the statement of the president of the US regarding the events of 1915 made under the pressure of radical Armenian circles and anti-Turkey groups,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“It is clear that the said statement does not have a scholarly and legal basis, nor is it supported by any evidence,” it said.
Turkey accepts that many Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed in clashes with Ottoman forces during World War One, but contests the figures and denies the killings were systematically orchestrated and constitute a genocide.
