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Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy has reacted to the statement made by Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos during his latest Armenia trip.

“We witness that Greece continues to take side with the hostile circles against Turkey and support their baseless stance and allegations,” Anadolu Agency quoted Aksoy as saying.

According to the official, Greece “systematically annihilated” Turks and Muslims in the region during and after the period of independence from the Ottoman Empire.

“Even today, Greece continues its inhumane practices against its Turkish minorities, taking it as far as to punish Muftis with imprisonment for performing a Friday prayer,” he added.

He said Turkey's position regarding the events of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire was “clearly put forward” by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his statement on April 23, 2014 while serving as prime minister, so “no further explanation is needed on the matter.”

During his official visit to Armenia, the Greek president called on Turkey to recognize the past regimes’ crimes against the Armenians and the Greeks at a joint news conference with President Armen Sarkissian of Armenia.

“Greece would like to convey to Turkey, our friend and neighbor, that it would be in its own interest and it would raise its international standing if it issued a courageous expression of apology for crimes against humanity that its past leaders foolishly committed against the Armenians and the Greeks,” Pavlopoulos said.