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Turkish PM condemns Germany's Armenian genocide resolution

Xinhua, June 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Friday harshly condemned a resolution passed by Bundestag, lower house of the German parliament, to label the killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as a "genocide."

"Anti-Turkish resolution of Germany would have a very negative impact on the German-Turkish relations," said Yildirim in a joint statement with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev here.

The Bundestag resolution has no meaning for Turkey, he said, adding that Turkey hopes that Germany will correct its historical mistake.

The Turkish government on Thursday described the Armenian genocide bill as "null and void." Also on the day, Ankara recalled its ambassador to Berlin in protest against the resolution.

Turkish governments have always rejected the use of the term genocide to describe the killing and expulsion of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians and Christian minorities at the hands of the Ottoman Turks during World War I. Turkey has rejected allegations that it was a bloody massacre.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that the events of 1915 were a difficult time not only for Armenians, but also for Arabs, Kurds and representatives of other nations living in the country.

Azerbaijan on Friday condemned the German parliament's resolution, calling it "biased."

Spokesman for the Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry Khikmet Hajiyev said the German parliament has been indifferent to Armenia's aggression against Azerbaijan and ethnic cleansing of more than a million Azerbaijanis. Endit