President Obama and other senior administration officials have repeatedly acknowledged as a historical fact that 1.5 million Armenians were massacred or marched to their deaths in the final days of the Ottoman Empire, the White House spokesperson Eric Schultz said during a press gaggle.

The reporters asked for the reasons of President's backtracking from that commitment to call it a genocide.

“We will use this occasion to call attention to the horrors of 1955 -- 1915, sorry -- to urge the full, frank and just acknowledgement of the facts that we believe is in the interest of all parties, and generate momentum for efforts to prevent atrocities in the here and now,” he said.

Turkey does play an important role in frankly acknowledging the facts of 1915, Schultz said, adding that Washington will continue to encourage them to do, and in fostering a constructive relationship with modern day Armenia. 

“Turkey also does -- as I think you’re alluding to, Josh -- play a critical role as we confront the horrific atrocities that occur today in both Iraq and Syria.  So we’re going to be having specific conversations about how we can strengthen that partnership.”