US to Decide Soon Whether to Call Mideast Killings of Christians ‘Genocide’

The United States will soon make a decision on whether to call the mass killings of Christian by Islamist extremists in the Middle East a genocide, US Secretary of State John Kerry told members of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Kerry added that so far, he has been given initial recommendations on how the Obama administration should label the atrocities, and noted has since asked for “further evaluation.”

"We are currently doing what I have to do, which is review very carefully the legal standards and precedence for whatever judgement is made," Kerry explained when urged by a US lawmaker to use his authority to call the killings a genocide.

"I will make a decision on this and I will make a decision on it as soon as I have that additional evaluation and we will proceed forward from there."

Kerry added he has been given initial recommendations on how the Obama administration should label the atrocities, and noted he has since asked for "further evaluation."

Earlier this month, Russian Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis called on the international community to prevent the killing and expulsion of Christians from the Middle East and end the violence in the region. The two religious leaders also discussed the possibility of forming jointly a political association to counter the genocide of Christians.