Turkey rejects statement by the President of the United States Donald trump on the tragic events of 1915, it is made for domestic political reasons, and is invalid for Ankara, said in a statement the Turkish foreign Ministry.
Earlier trump on the anniversary of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire stated that he welcomes reconciliation efforts between Armenians and Turks. He re-called the events of 1915 as the Armenian term meds Yeghern, which means "great catastrophe", but traditionally abstained from the word "genocide". The U.S. Congress has repeatedly adopted resolutions with the proposal to recognize the extermination of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide, but the US administration to take this step does not go, for fear of worsening relations with Turkey.
"trump’s Statement on the 1915 events based on their subjective assessment that the Armenians are trying to turn into a dogma. This statement is made for reasons of domestic politics and remains invalid. We reject the allegations made therein", – reads the statement of the Turkish foreign Ministry.
It is noted that the statement of the trump "ignored the suffering of more than 500 thousand Muslims killed by Armenian rebels during that period".
"This attitude, devoid of justice, it is necessary to change. Our proposal for the establishment of a joint Commission of historians for investigation of 1915 events remains in force… We remember with respect all people of all Nations: Muslims, Christians, Jews, died in the collapse of the Ottoman Empire", – the document says.
In the late XIX – early XX centuries, the Ottoman Empire carried out regular prosecutions and persecutions of Armenians. In particular, in 1915, according to some historians, killed more than 1.5 million Armenians. The fact of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire was recognized by 23 States, as well as by the European Parliament and the world Council of churches. The Russian state Duma in 1995 adopted a resolution "On condemnation of the Armenian genocide 1915-1922 years in its historic homeland – in Western Armenia".
Turkey traditionally rejects the accusations of genocide and extremely sensitive to criticism from the West on this issue. In Ankara insist on the rejection of the term "genocide" in relation to the events of 1915, stating that the victims were the Armenians and the Turks. Turkey also called for the establishment of an international Commission of historians to study the country’s archival documents to develop an objective approach to the events of the First world war.
