'Genocide' resolution will harm Germany-Turkey ties, says only lawmaker who voted against it


Bettina Kudla, the only German lawmaker who voted against the motion on 1915 events in Thursday's vote, said the parliament's decision will harm the relations between Germany and Turkey.

"It is not the task of the German parliament to give historical assessments about the events in another state,'' the lawmaker from German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic bloc said in German on her Twitter account, adding that the political and financial results of the decision cannot be predicted and are likely to harm relations with Turkey, including the current migrant deal, which is of key importance for Germany.

Kudla pointed out that the new development is saddening particularly as it jeopardizes the migrant deal while Europe is already struggling to find a common solution to resolve the refugee crisis.

The lower house of Germany's Federal Parliament approved a controversial motion labeling the 1915 events as 'genocide' on Thursday, disregarding warnings from Turkey.

Ankara strongly criticized the resolution and noted that it will not contribute to reconciliation between the two states, while urging Germany, which has an extensive genocide record from Namibia to the Holocaust, to take a fair and objective stance in line with European law.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry called on Germany to not politicize a historical event, which occurred 101 years ago, and take a fair and objective stance, which was a requirement of European law to which it is a party.

The resolution accuses the Ottoman government of 1915 of allegedly carrying out "systematic genocide" against Armenians, as well as other Christian minorities.

Turkey denies the alleged genocide, but acknowledges that there were casualties on both sides during the events taking place during World War I.

According to Turkey's viewpoint, deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia in 1915 occurred after some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.

Turkey describes the 1915 events as a tragedy for both sides.

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