While Obama has gone on the record in the past as referring to the massacre of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire as genocide, he declined to do so on his visit to Turkey, instead using the Armenian term Meds Yeghern. He reinforced the fact that he still believes the killings amount to genocide when asked at a joint press conference with President Abdullah Gül. During his visit, Obama urged the governments of Turkey and Armenia to work together to normalize relations and reopen the border.