As expected, newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to Turkey John Bass refused to call the crime committed against the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as “genocide” after taking office.

As reported by “ArmenPress”, in an extensive interview with Hurriyet Daily News, Bass said the following when asked whether the U.S. will be recognizing the massacres of Ottoman Armenians of 1915 as genocide in 2015 or not: “In relation to this, I must say that, as a government, the U.S. has clearly expressed its position on the conditions and the events that took place during the horrible tragedy that started in 1915.” Bass recalled the statements by the U.S. government on the day of remembrance of the victims of the Armenian Genocide this year and in the previous years.

The U.S. Ambassador said he was certain that “the full and sincere recognition of the facts related to the horrible events, the massacres and the tragedy are in the interests of Turkey and Armenia”.

“This is important from the angle of establishment of relations between the two countries. We are certain that it is in both countries’ interests and, after all, it is within the framework of U.S. general interests, as well as the establishment and reinforcement of stability in the region,” John Bass mentioned, adding that “Turks are talking more about what happened in 1915 than they did 20 years ago”. Bass called this change a “healthy development” that has already begun and must continue”.

The U.S. Ambassador also reflected on Recep Tayyib Erdogan’s April 24^th message this year when he was still the country’s Prime Minister, viewing it as important and expressing certainty that efforts need to be made in this direction.