Turkey summons U.S. ambassador over Armenian genocide recognition
24 April 2021
Turkey's foreign ministry summoned the U.S. ambassador to Ankara over President Biden's recognition of the Armenian genocide, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Driving the news: Biden on Saturday said the systemic killing and deportation of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces in the early 20th century constituted an act of genocide, angering Turkey who rejected the declaration.
- "Each year on this day, we remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era Armenian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring," Biden said.
What they're saying: "This statement of the US, which distorts the historical facts, will never be accepted in the conscience of the Turkish people, and will open a deep wound that undermines our mutual trust and friendship,” Turkey's foreign ministry said in a statement.
- Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesperson for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, tweeted that Turkey "strongly" condemns and rejects Biden's declaration. He encouraged Biden "look at his own history and present."
- Turkish officials conveyed the government's "strong reaction" to U.S. Ambassador David Satterfield, according to Anadolu.
Go deeper: Armenian prime minister praises Biden for recognizing genocide
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.