U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex in Yerevan on February 10 with his wife, Usha Vance, to honor the victims of the Armenian Genocide. Hours later, he drew attention when a post on X referencing the “Armenian Genocide” was removed and replaced with a statement that omitted the term, as he prepares to depart Armenia for Azerbaijan later today.
Accompanied by his wife, Usha Vance, he laid a wreath at the memorial and placed flowers at the Eternal Flame. The couple also observed a minute of silence in memory of the victims.
The U.S. vice president was received at the memorial by Armenia’s Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute Edita Gzoyan, and U.S. Chargé d’Affaires in Armenia, David Allen.
According to the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, Edita Gzoyan accompanied J.D. Vance and his wife around the Armenian Genocide Memorial, presenting them with the history of its construction.
The museum also noted that she described the Museum’s “Wall of Memory,” which features small bowls filled with soil taken from the graves of foreign public figures, politicians, intellectuals, and missionaries who, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, raised their voices in protest against the mass killings and genocide of Armenians carried out by the Ottoman government.
Highlighting the Armenian advocacy of figures such as Henry Morgenthau, who was the U.S. ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at the time of the Armenian Genocide, and Clara Barton, Gzoyan emphasized that thanks to their work, American society was well informed about the massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, and that the United States’ recognition of the Armenian Genocide also serves as a tribute to their memory.
The museum further reported that Gzoyan referenced three khachkars (cross-stones) within the Tsitsernakaberd complex, commemorating Armenians who were victims of massacres carried out by Azerbaijani authorities in Sumgait, Kirovabad (Ganja), and Baku in the late 20th century, as well as five freedom fighters buried near the Museum during the Artsakh liberation struggle, emphasizing the connection between these events and the Armenian Genocide.
At the conclusion of the visit, the museum reported that U.S. Vice President Vance made an entry in the Armenian Genocide Museum’s Book of Honor, writing: “In solemn remembrance of the lives lost, we honor the resilience and unbreakable spirit of the Armenian people. May America and Armenia together strive toward a future of peace and mutual understanding.”
The museum also noted that Director Gzoyan expressed her gratitude for the visit by presenting Vance with books on the Armenian Genocide and Artsakh.
Following the visit, Vance initially posted about the visit to the memorial on X, referencing the term “Armenian Genocide.”
However, hours later, the post was removed from his account and replaced with a statement from his press secretary, Taylor Van Kirk. The revised post made no mention of the word “genocide,” instead stating: “The Vice President and his wife lay flowers at the eternal flame and sign the guest book on the final day of their visit to Armenia.”
Vance arrived in Armenia on an official visit on February 9. During his stay in Yerevan, he held meetings with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Vahagn Khachaturyan.
The United States has officially recognized the Armenian Genocide. In 2019, the U.S. Senate adopted a resolution recognizing and condemning the genocide, and on April 24, 2021, then-U.S. President Joe Biden used the term “genocide” in his annual message marking the anniversary of the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.
Vance is scheduled to depart Armenia for Azerbaijan later today.
