By Kevin Lamarque and Trevor Hunnicutt
YEREVAN, Feb 10 (Reuters) – The White House on Tuesday deleted a post from Vice President JD Vance’s account that commemorated massacres of Armenians as a “genocide,” saying the message that was likely to irk U.S.-allied Turkey was posted in error.
Vance, who was on a two-day trip to Armenia, visited the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan during the first-ever visit by a U.S. vice president to the South Caucasus republic.
There, he and wife Usha Vance participated in a ceremonial laying of a wreath of carnations, chrysanthemums and roses at the site, which honors the 1.5 million Armenians who lost their lives in the final years of the Turkish-led Ottoman Empire.
Vance’s official account on X later described the visit as designed “to honor the victims of the 1915 Armenian genocide.”
After that post was deleted, a Vance aide who declined to be named said the message was posted in error by staff who were not part of the traveling delegation.
“This is an account managed by staff that primarily exists to share photos and videos of the Vice President’s activities,” said a spokesperson for Vance, referring to his own comments, which did not include the phrase “genocide.”
TRUMP’S TIES TO TURKEY
Turkey is a NATO ally of the United States and President Tayyip Erdogan has maintained close ties with President Donald Trump, including supporting the U.S. diplomatic initiative on Gaza.
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 the killings were systematically orchestrated and constitute a genocide.
Although the U.S. Congress and Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, have both recognized the 1915 massacres as a genocide, Trump avoided that language in his own statement on the killings last year.
The social media deletion came four days after the White House defended, and then deleted, a racist depiction of former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as apes posted to Trump’s Truth Social account.
Trump later told reporters that he had not watched the entire video before a White House aide posted it to his account.
Asked by a reporter whether his visit to the memorial was intended to recognize a genocide, Vance said, “Obviously, it’s a very terrible thing that happened little over 100 years ago, and something that was just very, very important to them culturally.
“So I thought out of a sign of respect, both for the victims, but also for the Armenian government that’s been a very important partner for us in the region, to Prime Minister Pashinyan, I wanted to go and pay a visit and pay my respects.”
Vance’s visit was aimed at promoting agreements the Trump administration struck with Armenia and Azerbaijan to build towards peace after nearly 40 years of war between the Caucasus rivals. Trump has presented those diplomatic efforts as among the chief accomplishments of his time in office.
In Armenia, Vance signed a deal with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that could pave the way for the U.S. to build a nuclear power plant there.
On Tuesday, he traveled to Azerbaijan and signed a strategic partnership deal encompassing economic and security cooperation, as Washington seeks to expand its influence in a region where Russia was once the main power broker.
(Reporting by Kevin Lamarque and Trevor Hunnicutt; editing by Colleen Jenkins and Mark Heinrich)
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