Biden recognises atrocities against Armenians as genocide

Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan attends a memorial service at the monument to the victims of mass killings by Ottoman Turks (PAN/AP)

US president Joe Biden has formally recognised the systematic killings and deportations of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by Ottoman Empire forces in the early 20th century as “genocide”.

Mr Biden used a term for the atrocities that his White House predecessors have avoided for decades amid concerns over alienating Turkey.