Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Yerevan to understand the historical events of 1915 with “reason and without hatred.”
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The twenty-fourth of April is the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan earlier said that we need to think about overcoming the emotional shock from this tragedy.
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“Today I once again honor the memory of the Armenians, citizens of the Ottoman Empire, who died in the unfavorable conditions of the First World War, and express condolences to their descendants, and also ask God’s mercy for all members of the Ottoman society who died and were martyred as a result of conflicts, uprisings, and bandit movements and terrorist attacks,” Erdogan said in his message.
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“The safety, well-being and happiness of our Armenian citizens, who have enriched the Anatolian lands with their cultural and humanitarian works, are guaranteed today. We have not allowed and will not allow even one citizen of Armenian origin to be marginalized, excluded and feel like second class in their homeland. It is important. “so that we view historical events under the guidance of reason, conscience and science, without succumbing to radical discourse, marginalization and hate speech,” the Turkish leader said in a statement.
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At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, the Ottoman Empire carried out regular persecution and persecution of Armenians. In particular, in 1915, according to a number of historians, more than 1.5 million Armenians were killed. The fact of genocide of the Armenian people in the Ottoman Empire has been recognized by 23 states, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches. In 1995, the State Duma adopted a resolution “On condemnation of the genocide of the Armenian people of 1915-1922 in their historical homeland – Western Armenia.”
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Türkiye traditionally rejects accusations of the Armenian genocide and reacts extremely sensitively to criticism on this issue. Ankara insists on abandoning the term “genocide” in relation to the events of 1915, saying that both Armenians and Turks were victims. Turkey is also calling for the creation 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.
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On Tuesday, Erdogan, addressing Armenia, said that a new order is being established in Transcaucasia and the time has come to “throw away groundless memories.” According to him, “it is always better to act in accordance with the realities of the time, and now Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has understood this.” For his part, Pashinyan previously stated that the Armenian side is committed to the agenda for resolving relations with Turkey.
