Turkey's ruling party slams US move on Armenian events

Turkey does not accept and strongly condemns the US Senate resolution on Armenian events that “poisons the climate of Turkish-American relations,” the ruling party spokesman said Friday, Anadolu reports.

“We do not accept by any means and strongly condemn the US Senate resolution which is based on false claims on the events that took place in 1915 in the Ottoman state, and which poisons the climate of Turkish-American relations,” Omer Celik, the Justice and Development (AK) Party spokesman, said in a tweet.

The US Senate unanimously passed Thursday a resolution recognizing Armenian claims of 1915 events.

Celik said the baseless resolution may please “the lobby of genocide industry” but it uses history as a means of the policy based on lies.

“It is of a nature that will prevent the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations,” he said, adding that it was an irresponsible move in terms of policy.

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Celik noted that the resolution showed how “genocide economy” managed by fanatic Armenian interest groups is affecting the “American lobbying system” despite their national interests.

He also recalled Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s offer to open archives and let historians work together, and said the Armenian side is avoiding it.

Celik stressed that the US move did not comply with the solidarity spirit of NATO alliance.

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.

Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia plus international experts to examine the issue.