WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden has formally recognized that the systematic killings and deportations of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by Ottoman Empire forces in the early 20th century were “genocide”—using a term for the atrocities that his White House predecessors have avoided for decades. With the acknowledgment, Biden followed through on a campaign promise he made…

WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden spoke with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday as Biden prepared to move forward with a campaign pledge to formally recognize that atrocities committed against the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire more than a century ago were genocide. The U.S. and Turkish governments, in separate statements on the call, made…