Armenian, Greek and Kurdish communities in the United States are calling for the immediate recall of the US ambassador to Turkey following inflammatory remarks that appeared to downplay the Armenian Genocide.
Thomas Bararack, the American Ambassador to Ankara and Special Envoy for Syria, triggered outrage during a State Department briefing on 11 July 2025. In his remarks, Bararack stated that “Armenia continues to suffer from an outdated perception of what Turkey did to Armenia”- a comment that has since drawn sharp condemnation from diaspora groups.
The ambassador’s words were widely viewed as dismissive of the Armenian Genocide, the historically documented mass killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire. The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC), and the American Friends of Kurdistan (AFK) jointly issued a public statement demanding Bararack’s removal from his post.
“We demand the immediate recall of US Ambassador Thomas Bararack from his position in Turkey, as well as from his role as Special Envoy for Syria,” the statement read. The groups described his comments as an insult to the memory of genocide victims and an act that emboldens Turkey’s longstanding denial of historic crimes.
This latest diplomatic controversy is expected to add further pressure on the Trump administration from influential Armenian, Greek and Kurdish lobbying groups in the US, many of whom have consistently advocated for greater recognition of human rights abuses in the region.
APOLOGY: Tom Barrack, President Trump’s ambassador to Turkey @USAMBTurkiye, owes America an apology.
— ANCA (@ANCA_DC) July 15, 2025
“Armenia still suffers under the old impression of what Turkey had done to Armenia: Genocide” – Thomas Barrack, US Ambassador to Turkey & Special Envoy for Syria, July 11, 2025… pic.twitter.com/JGKv8N5i6N
Also read: 110 years since the Armenian Genocide – Turkey’s unpunished crime
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