BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 24
Trend:
Turkish politicians firmly condemned the statement of US President Joe Biden, in which he used the word "genocide" in connection with the events of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire, Trend reports on April 24.
For example, Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Mus wrote on Twitter that the words of the US president, which are not based on any facts, are an attempt to damage the Turkey-US relations.
“We condemn the use of the term “genocide” in relation to events 1915 by the US president," Mus tweeted.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stressed that US President Joe Biden’s statement related to the events of 1915 based solely on populism.
“Words cannot change or rewrite history,” Cavusoglu said. “We have nothing to learn from anybody on our own past. We entirely reject this statement based solely on populism.”
"Historical events must be studied by historians,” spokesman for Turkish president Ibrahim Kalin said while commenting on Joe Biden's statements. “The narrow interests of the political situation cannot determine historical facts.”
“In fact, when our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the creation of a joint historical commission to investigate the events of 1915, he wanted to protect the historical issue from politics and malicious circles,” Kalin said. “Those who feared that the truth would be revealed through documents could not respond to this call. The US president ignored these facts and settled an unfair position."
Kalin added that the statement of the US president is based on unfounded accusations, it will harm the efforts to normalize the relations between Turkey and Armenia.
In turn, Deputy Chairman of the Turkish ruling Justice and Development Party Numan Kurtulmus said that historical facts cannot be replaced with lies for the sake of political expectations.
"There is no Armenian genocide in our glorious history!" Kurtulmus said.
Spokesman for the Turkish ruling Justice and Development Party Omer Celik also commented on Joe Biden's statement.
"We do not accept and firmly condemn the statement of US President Joe Biden about the events that occurred in the Ottoman Empire in 1915, which does not have a historical and legal basis and is based on unsubstantiated statements," Celik said.
US President Joseph Biden called the events of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire “genocide" in his statement of Apr. 24.
Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that Turkey's predecessor, the Ottoman Empire, allegedly carried out so-called "genocide" against the Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated previously that there was no genocide against Armenians in the history of Turkey and the events of 1915 need investigation.
Turkey called on Armenia to open the archives of 1915 and create a joint commission to investigate the events. But Armenia has not yet responded to the proposal.