Turkey Raps US Senate Resolution Recognizing Armenia Genocide
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Turkey reacted angrily at the US Senate move to unanimously pass on Thursday a resolution recognizing as a "genocide" the mass killings of Armenians a century ago.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called the vote a "political show" on social media, adding that "it is not legally binding and it has no validity whatsoever."
The historic move dealt another blow to the already problematic ties between Ankara and Washington, D.C., Al Jazeera reported.
Turkey's state-run news agency, Anadolu, quoted Cavusoglu as saying that those who use history for political purposes are "cowards who do not want to face the truth".
Turkey's Foreign Ministry also issued a statement condemning the vote as "one of the shameful examples of how history can be politicized", Anadolu reported.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart.
They say the mass killings amounted to "genocide", a claim recognized by about 30 countries.
Turkey strongly denies the accusation of "genocide" and says Armenians and Turks died as a result of World War I. It puts the death toll in the hundreds of thousands from both sides.
Turkey's position on the events is that the deaths took place when some sided with invading Russians, and revolted against Ottoman forces.
In October, the Democratic-led House of Representatives had passed the resolution by an overwhelming majority.
US Congressional aides said the White House does not want the legislation to move ahead while it negotiates with Ankara on sensitive issues.
