Turkish Foreign Ministry criticizes Obama’s statement on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day

YEREVAN, April 25./ARKA/.The Turkish Foreign Ministry criticized Obama’s statement on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day released on April 24. 

On Wednesday U.S. President Barack Obama appealed to the Armenians naming the 1915 tragedy “Mets Eghern” that means “great genocide” or “great slaughter” in Armenian language.

“Today we commemorate the Meds Yeghern and honor those who perished in one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century. Ninety-eight years ago, 1.5 million Armenians were massacred or marched to their deaths in the final days of the Ottoman Empire,” Obama said.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Foreign Ministry criticized Obama’s statement saying the U.S. President’s approach only reflected Armenian views.

“Such statements damage both Turkish-American relations, and also render it more difficult for Turks and Armenians to reach a just memory," the statement read.

There are currently no diplomatic relations established between Turkey and Armenia: official Ankara closed the border in 1993. The uneasy relationship between the countries is caused particularly by Ankara’s support to Azerbaijan on Karabakh problem and Turkey’s overreaction to international recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide in Ottoman Empire.

The process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey was initiated by Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan in the autumn of 2008. On October 10, 2009 Armenian and Turkish foreign ministers signed in Zurich, Switzerland, protocols on the establishment of diplomatic relations and normalization of bilateral relations, which were to be ratified by the parliaments of the two countries. However, in 2010 April  Serzh Sargsyan suspended the process of ratification of the Armenian-Turkish protocols by Armenian parliament saying that Turkey was not ready to continue the process.

The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide committed in XX century. Turkey denies the accusation of massacres and the killing of one and a half million Armenians during World War I.

The Armenian Genocide  was  recognized by  Russia, Germany, France, Netherlands, Vatican, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, Venezuela, Lebanon, France,  42  U.S. states, as well as by the parliaments of Greece, Cyprus, Argentina, Belgium, National Council of Switzerland, Canada,  Poland, Italy, other countries as well as the  European Parliament, the World Council of Churches. -0-