Armenians brace for Erdogan's U.S. visit

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- A U.S.-based Armenian advocacy group has ramped up efforts to encourage Washington to recognize the Armenian genocide ahead of a visit by the Turkish premier.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama on Dec. 7.

The Armenian National Committee of America stepped up its lobbying efforts ahead of the visit, calling on its supporters to contact their Washington representatives to encourage Obama to make true on his campaign pledge to recognize the Armenian genocide.

Turkey's English-language daily newspaper Hurriyet describes the group as "the largest and most radical" pro-Armenian group in the United States.

The ANCA points to repeated accounts of slander by Turkish lobbyists, calling on its supporters to call them out on allegations of bias.

The Armenian diaspora in the United States has been urging the U.S. government to formally recognize the deaths of more than a million Armenians as genocide.

Two measures on the Armenian genocide are before U.S. lawmakers currently.