Turkey foreign ministry condemns Putin’s words on Armenian Genocide
Turkey has condemned the statement of Russian President Vladimir Putin calling the 1915 events in the Ottoman Empire Genocide, the foreign ministry said on Friday, TASS reported.
"Despite our warnings and appeals, Russian President Vladimir Putin evaluated the events of 1915 as genocide," the statement says. "We do not accept it and condemn it. Such political statements that are a direct violation of law can have no legal effect."
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry noted that "Russia should better know what genocide is like and what legal aspects it has."
"We know that once in ten years the [State] Duma [lower house of Russia’s parliament] has a habit of making political statements which support Armenia’s one-sided interests," it said. "Duma did not break this tradition and on April 24, 2015 issued a respective statement. We condemn it, too."
Besides, "Russian president’s participation in the events held in Yerevan on April 24 should be regarded as part of Armenia’s propagandistic campaign."
"Russia can do one thing - to renounce its unilateral position and to positively enhance implementation of Turkey’s appeals to the Armenians about friendship and peace," it said.