White House spokesperson avoids commenting Armenian GenocideApril 5, 2009 - 00:16 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Ahead of President Barack Obama's trip to Turkey, at a news briefing the White House spokesperson avoided discussing the Armenian Genocide when asked by a reporter to comment on the matter.Responding to a reporter's query on whether "the President still believe that the Turks committed genocide against the Armenians," White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs, said: "We'll get into that I think later on." When pressed to comment further, Gibbs said: "I'll leave that for--I can't give away everything in one gaggle, for goodness sakes." Gibbs explained the trip to Turkey aimed to strengthen an important relationship. "I mean, again, I think it's to strengthen an important relationship and reach out to--and demonstrate the importance of--their importance in our relationship and, again, issues that we have in common that we want to work on. I mean, look, I think it's an opportunity to probably go also to a country that people may not have expected us to visit on our first trip over here, and I think it's an important signal for the President," explained Gibbs, Asbarez.com reports. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |