Biden recognizes the massacre of more than a million Armenians by the Turks as genocide

President Joe Biden formally acknowledged this Saturday that the systematic killings and deportations of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by the forces of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century were "genocide." 

It is

a term used for the first time by a US president

, and one that

Biden's predecessors in the White House have avoided for decades out of concern of generating tensions with Turkey

, the heir country of that empire and which is currently an ally member of the NATO.  

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With this recognition,

Biden fulfilled a campaign promise he made a year ago: it is a symbolic gesture that occurs right on the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day,

an annual commemoration, and that marks the intention of the current US Government to consider that these events, which occurred between 1915 and 1923, were a deliberate attempt to destroy the Armenians.

This town is traditionally considered to be of the Christian religion, while the Ottomans, as well as the modern Turks, are predominantly Muslim. 

As the BBC explains, these acts of violence occurred when the Young Turks party was in power in the Ottoman Empire, accusing the Armenians of collaborating with Russia, then an enemy power. 

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An estimated 2 million Armenians were deported and 1.5 million died in this historical context. 

"The American people honor all Armenians who died in the genocide that began 106 years ago today," Biden said in a statement released Saturday.

“We affirm history.

We do this not to blame, but to make sure that what happened is never repeated, ”he

added.

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Turkey has always denied that the killings of the Armenians were genocide, arguing that it was not a systematic attempt to wipe out the Armenian people.

Academics disagree.

And more than 20 countries have formally recognized the killings as genocide.

Turkey's foreign minister warned the Biden Administration that the statement made by the president on Saturday would damage relations with the United States and provoke a strong reaction. 

Biden spoke to Erdogan on Friday, for the first time since he is president.

The leaders agreed to meet at the NATO summit in June, the White House said.

With information from AP, NBC News and BBC.