Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgic called on the European Parliament to act in line with political ethics and international law, regarding the EP's claims on 1915 events.
Bilgic was responding to a question about a report on European Union-Armenia relations prepared by EP on March 15, 2023.
He noted that the legislative body "continues to insist on baseless claims" regarding the 1915 incidents.
"These views, which do not accord with historical facts and legal norms are null and void for us," Bilgic said, adding that Türkiye calls on the EP to act in line with political ethics rather than repeating one-sided and baseless allegations.
Türkiye objects to presenting the 1915 incidents as “genocide,” and instead describes the events as a tragedy in which both Turks and Armenians suffered casualties in the heat of World War I.
Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Türkiye and Armenia under the supervision of international experts to examine the issue.
Türkiye's position on the 1915 events 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, made worse by massacres conducted by militaries and militia groups from both sides. The mass arrests of prominent Ottoman Armenian politicians, intellectuals and other community members suspected of links with separatist groups, harboring nationalist sentiments and being hostile to Ottoman rule occurred in the then-capital city of Istanbul on April 24, 1915. The date is commemorated as the beginning of later atrocities.
