Turkey on Thursday condemned the Syrian parliament for passing a resolution that recognizes the killing of Armenians during the final days of the Ottoman Empire as genocide, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
“Syrian Regime Parliament’s resolution today (February 13th) recognizing the incidents of 1915 as so-called genocide provides a grim example in itself,” a written statement from Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said.
“It is the picture of the hypocrisy of a regime which has indulged in every kind of carnage towards its own people including children for years, and which caused the displacement of millions of them and well-known for its dexterity in using chemical weapons,” the statement added.
Aksoy also noted: “Purporting these baseless claims by a cruel regime which has lost its international legitimacy, is a clear indicator of the twisted mindset that lays behind it.”
Turkey’s position on the events of 1915 is that the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.
Turkey objects to the presentation of the incidents as “genocide” but describes the 1915 events as a tragedy in which both sides suffered casualties.
