US Vice President Vance’s office deletes post referring to ‘Armenian genocide’
By Kevin Lamarque and Trevor Hunnicutt
YEREVAN, Feb 10 (Reuters) – The White House on Tuesday deleted a social media post from Vice President J.D. Vance’s account that referred to the Armenian massacres as “genocide” and said the message, which contradicts U.S. ally Türkiye’s stance on the issue, was sent by mistake.
On a two-day tour of Armenia, Vance visited the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan during the first visit by a US vice president to the South Caucasus Republic.
Vance and his wife Usha attended the wreath-laying ceremony consisting of carnations, chrysanthemums and roses in memory of the 1.5 million Armenians who lost their lives in the last years of the Turkish-led Ottoman Empire.
Vance’s official statement about X later stated that the purpose of the visit was to “honor the victims of the 1915 Armenian genocide.”
After the post was deleted, a Vance aide who declined to give his name said the message was sent by mistake by staff who were not part of the traveling delegation.
“This is a staff-run account that exists primarily to share photos and videos of the Vice President’s activities,” a spokesperson for Vance said, adding that his views were best described by his own statements to reporters. Vance did not use the word “genocide” in these remarks.
TRUMP’S TIES WITH Türkiye
Turkey acknowledges that many Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed in clashes with Ottoman forces during World War I, but disputes the figures and denies that the killings were systematically planned and constituted genocide.
Although the US Congress and Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden recognized the 1915 massacres as genocide, Trump avoided this language in his statement about the murders last year.
Turkey is a US NATO ally, and President Tayyip Erdoğan has maintained close relations with President Donald Trump, including supporting the US diplomatic initiative towards Gaza.
The Turkish foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
The White House said there had been “no change in policy at this time” since Trump’s statement about the historic event in 2025, which did not include the word “genocide.”
When asked if she had a broader issue with the White House’s social media protocols, spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said “no.”
Last week, the White House defended and then deleted a post on Trump’s Truth Social account that included a racist depiction of former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as monkeys.
Trump later told reporters that he did not watch the entire video before posting it on a White House official’s account.
Vance signed an agreement with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Armenia that could pave the way for the United States to build a nuclear power plant there.
Asked by a reporter if the visit to the memorial was intended to recognize a genocide, Vance responded: “Obviously, this was a very terrible thing that happened a little over 100 years ago, and it was a very, very important thing for them culturally.”
“I wanted to visit Prime Minister Pashinyan and pay my respects as a sign of respect to both the victims and the Armenian government, which is a very important partner for us in the region.”
Vance’s visit was aimed at supporting agreements the Trump administration reached with Armenia and Azerbaijan for peace after nearly 40 years of war between the rivals in the Caucasus. Trump touted these diplomatic efforts as some of the most significant achievements of his time in office.
On Tuesday, Vance traveled to Azerbaijan and signed a strategic partnership agreement covering 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 in Yerevan, Armenia, and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Mark Heinrich and Edmund Klamann.)
