This archive report was first published on 30 October 2019.
On October 29, 2019, the US House of Representatives made history by passing a resolution recognizing the mass killings of Armenians as genocide.
The resolution, which was passed with a vote of 405 to 11, acknowledges the killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923 as an act of genocide.
However, Turkey strongly denies the accusation, claiming that both Armenians and Turks died as a result of the First World War, with a death toll in the hundreds of thousands.
US lawmakers voted in support of the measure to "commemorate the Armenian Genocide through official recognition and remembrance," a move that has strained ties between Washington and NATO member Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the US vote, calling it a "meaningless political step" and stating, "This step which was taken is worthless and we do not recognise it," in a televised speech.
