Germany's resolution to seriously affect ties: Erdogan

NAIROBI, Kenya

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey’s ties with Germany will be seriously affected following the German parliament’s approval of a resolution terming the 1915 events as “genocide.”

Addressing a joint press conference alongside his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta in the Kenyan capital Nairobi Thursday, Erdogan said: “Decision taken in the German parliament will seriously affect our relationship.

"I had a phone call with the [Turkish] prime minister and we are in the process of calling back our ambassador. When he comes back, we will sit and discuss these issues, and decide on the future steps that we will take. We will sit and elaborate on this."

The president is currently on a four-day visit to Uganda and Kenya.

German parliament approved a non-binding resolution Thursday recognizing Armenian claims of “genocide” during the 1915 events.

The resolution was approved by a large majority in the parliament’s lower house, Bundestag. Only one lawmaker from German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic bloc, Bettina Kudla, voted against the motion. Another lawmaker from Merkel’s party, Oliver Wittke, abstained.

http://aa.com.tr/en/europe/german-parliament-approves-armenian-genocide-motion/583285

The controversial resolution was submitted by the parliamentary groups of the ruling Christian Democrats, its coalition partner Social Democrats, and the opposition, Green Party. The Left party also backed the resolution.

Merkel, Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel and senior ministers did not attend the vote.

The resolution accuses the Ottoman government of 1915 of allegedly carrying out “systematic genocide” against Armenians, as well as other Christian minorities.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim in Ankara Thursday also gave a strong reaction to the resolution, calling it "fallacious".

"German parliament's acceptance of the so-called Armenian genocide is not something Turkey will accept,” Yildirim said.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus described Thursday’s vote in the Bundestag as “null and void” from a Turkish perspective, effectively saying Ankara would not recognize the resolution.

We certainly will give the necessary answer to this resolution on all platforms, Kurtulmus tweeted in Turkish.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who is accompanying the president on his visit to Kenya, tweeted in Turkish: The way (for those) to close dark pages in their histories is not to defame the history of other countries through parliamentary resolution.

Turkey denies the alleged genocide, but acknowledges that there were casualties on both sides during the events taking place during World War I.

According to Turkey's viewpoint, deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia in 1915 occurred after some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.

Turkey describes the 1915 events as a tragedy for both sides.

Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia plus international experts to tackle the issue.