Turkey says U.S. recognising Armenian 'genocide' will further harm ties

FILE PHOTO: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu looks on during a joint statement with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell (not pictured), ahead of a meeting at the EEAS in Brussels, Belgium, January 21, 2021. Stephanie Lecocq/Pool via REUTERS

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that U.S. President Joe Biden recognising the 1915 mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as a genocide on April 24 will further harm already strained ties between the NATO allies.

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 that the killings were systematically orchestrated and constitute a genocide.

"Regarding April 24, the United States needs to respect international law," Cavusoglu told an interview with broadcaster Haberturk, referring to the anniversary of the killings. "If the United States wants to worsen ties, the decision is theirs."

(Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun and Tuvan Gumrukcu)