Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on US President Joe Biden to immediately reverse his declaration that 1915 massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire constituted genocide, a move he says is upsetting and diminished bilateral ties.
Mr Biden's historic declaration on Saturday has infuriated its NATO ally Turkey, which has said the announcement had opened a "deep wound" in relations that have already been strained over a host of issues.
In his first comments since Mr Biden's statement, Mr Erdogan said "the wrong step" would hinder ties and advised the US to "look in the mirror," adding Turkey still sought to establish "good neighbourly" ties with Armenia.
"The US president has made baseless, unjust and untrue remarks about the sad events that took place in our geography over a century ago," Erdogan said after a cabinet meeting and repeated a call for Turkish and Armenian historians to form a joint commission to investigate the events.
"We know that he has done it due to pressure from radical Armenian groups but this doesn't change the fact that it will harm our relations," he added in a televised speech.
"I hope the US president will turn back from this wrong step as soon as possible."
He also criticised the US for having failed to find a solution to the decades-old conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh - where the US, Russia and France were mediators - and said the US had stood by as massacres unfolded.
"If you say genocide, then you need to look at yourselves in the mirror and make an evaluation. The Native Americans, I don't even need to mention them, what happened is clear," he said, in reference to the treatment of Native Americans by European settlers.
Protesters hold a banner that reads "USA is a single-fanged monster", referring to a verse describing western nations in the Turkish National Anthem. Source: AP
"While all these truths are out there, you cannot pin the genocide accusation on the Turkish people."
Turkey supported Azerbaijan in the conflict last year, in which Azeri forces seized swathes of lands in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Joe Biden's statement came at a time when Turkish and US officials have been struggling to repair ties, strained when Turkey purchased Russian defence systems resulting in US sanctions; policy differences in Syria and legal matters.
Mr Erdogan said he expected to "open the door for a new period" in ties and discuss all disputes with Mr Biden at a NATO summit in June but warned that ties would deteriorate further unless the allies can compartmentalise issues.
"We now need to put aside our disagreements and look at what steps we can take from now on, otherwise we will have no choice but to do what is required by the level our ties have fallen to on April 24," he said.
