Pres. Donald Trump’s message on April 24, 2025, in which he avoided referring to the Armenian Genocide as genocide, is a shameful reversal of decades of U.S. acknowledgements. Turkish and Azeri circles quickly capitalized on Trump’s statement. The Turkish newspaper Türkiye Today published an article on April 24, headlined: “Trump avoids ‘Armenian genocide’ term on April 24 in friendly gesture to Türkiye.” The Azeri media, Azernews, published an article on April 25 with the following title: “US President Donald Trump avoids term ‘genocide’ in 1915 statement.”
The United States government first acknowledged the Armenian Genocide in 1951 in an official document submitted to the International Court of Justice (World Court).
The House of Representatives passed two resolutions in 1975 and 1984 acknowledging the Armenian Genocide, and Pres. Ronald Reagan acknowledged it in his April 22, 1981 Proclamation.
The House of Representatives acknowledged it again on October 29, 2019 by an overwhelming vote of 405 to 11. Despite Pres. Trump’s several attempts to block it, the U.S. Senate adopted a resolution on December 12, 2019, acknowledging the Armenian Genocide by unanimous consent (100 to 0).
Pres. Joe Biden then officially recognized the Armenian Genocide in a written statement issued on April 24, 2021.
After all of these acknowledgements, Armenians are no longer interested in what Trump has to say about the Armenian Genocide in 2025. There is no doubt that he simply got his marching orders from his close friend, Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, whom Trump admires immensely.
For months, Trump’s Armenian supporters have proudly mentioned that the president is surrounded by three top pro-Armenian cabinet members, namely, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, and Marco Rubio, Secretary of State. Other than Rubio, the first two have nothing to do with foreign policy. Either none of the three attempted to influence Trump on his April 24 statement, or the president simply ignored their advice. Rubio himself issued a statement even softer than Trump’s on X on April 24: “Under the shadow of unspeakable loss, the Armenian people have endured and prevailed. Today, we remember the Meds Yeghern not just in mourning, but with resolve. We honor the past and look forward to working towards enduring peace, prosperity and security for Armenia and the region.” Notice that there is no mention of either Turkey or the Ottoman Empire as the perpetrator of the genocide.
Armenians also had to face Pres. Erdogan’s twisted statement on April 24, which was intended to deceive those naïve enough to be fooled by such ploys. Erdogan sent a “message of condolences,” which was dutifully read by Patriarch Sahag Mashalian at the Ferikoy Surp Vartanants Church in Istanbul. Far from acknowledging the Armenian Genocide, Erdogan falsely equated genocide victims with the Turkish soldiers killed during World War I. Going even further, Erdogan blamed Armenian victims for engaging in “rebellions, increasing gang movements, acts of subversion by armed groups,” in addition to mentioning the lives lost due to “epidemics that took place during the war years.” This is yet another ugly attempt at denial of the truth.
What is most painful to a lot of Armenians is the announcements by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan “that the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide is no longer a foreign policy priority for Armenia.”
Furthermore, in recent months, Pashinyan has raised questions about the basic facts of the Armenian Genocide, such as what and why it happened, thus upsetting a lot of Armenians worldwide, but providing great joy to the leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkey.
Fortunately, Pashinyan has not engaged in outright denial of the Armenian Genocide, using both Meds Yeghern and Armenian Genocide in his conciliatory April 24 statement. However, asking unnecessary questions only serves to cast doubt on the veracity of the Armenian Genocide. Making matters worse, Pashinyan has castigated Armenians’ adoration of Mount Ararat as well as voiced support for changing the Coat of Arms and the National Anthem and amending Armenia’s Constitution. His anti-nationalist statements serve to encourage the denialists in Azerbaijan and Turkey. There is no question that Pashinyan is succumbing to demands for concessions from Aliyev and Erdogan in order to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan and open the border with Turkey.
While Pashinyan has taken a soft position on the Armenian Genocide, he harshly condemned Armenians who burned the Azeri and Turkish flags on April 24 in Yerevan, even before there was any complaint from either one of these countries.
In my view, there is nothing wrong with burning the flag of an enemy country. It is an expression of protest against the hostile policies of Azerbaijan and Turkey. Furthermore, those who burned the flags did not violate any laws. Once again, Pashinyan has shown that he is too eager to appease Armenia’s enemies while being too harsh on fellow Armenians who disagree with his policies.
Harut Sassounian
