Washington DC - Vice President JD Vance shared a social media post acknowledging the Armenian genocide, before quickly deleting it.

Vance became the first-ever vice president to visit Armenia earlier this week, but his trip to the capital, Yerevan, is already causing controversy.

On Tuesday, Vance shared an X post showing him and his wife, Usha Vance, at "a wreath-laying ceremony at the Armenian Genocide memorial to honor victims of the 1915 Armenian genocide."

But according to The New York Times, the post was quickly deleted. When reached for comment, Vance's office claimed the post was mistakenly shared by staff who were not part of the delegation.

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The monument is dedicated to the estimated 1.5 million Armenians killed by the Ottoman Empire as it was unraveling during World War I.

While most scholars have defined the incident as a genocide, the US has avoided the term due to pressure from Turkey, which vehemently denies the crime.

In 2021, former President Joe Biden became the first US president to formally acknowledge the genocide.

When asked about his visit, however, Vance refused to use the word, and said he was there "out of a sign of respect."

"Obviously, it's a very terrible thing that happened a little over 100 years ago, and something that was just very, very important to them culturally," he added.

In a statement, Aram Hamparian, the executive director at the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), accused Turkey of "humiliating America" by "forcing" Vance to delete the post.

"While it's no surprise to see Turkey still strong-arming global leaders to enforce its Armenian Genocide gag-rule, it is deeply troubling to witness Vice President Vance - a man who loudly proclaims solidarity with Christian victims of persecution - display such weakness in the face of this foreign pressure," he added.