No: 129, 24 April 2015

We reject and condemn the labelling of the 1915 events as “genocide” by the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, despite all our warnings and calls. Such political statements, which are flagrant violation of law, are null and void for Turkey.

Taking into account the mass atrocities and exiles in Caucasus, in theCentral Asiaand Eastern Europe committed by Russia for a century; collective punishment methods such as Holodomor as well as inhumane practices especially against Turkish and Muslim people in Russia’s own history, we consider that Russia is best-suited to know what exactly “genocide” and its legal dimension are.

We are aware that Duma makes political statements supporting the one-sided Armenian allegations on a routine basis in every 10 years since 1995. Not breaking this tradition, the Duma has issued a new statement on 24 April 2015, in accordance with their previous decisions. We also condemn this statement.

The participation of the Russian President in the April 24th ceremonies in Yerevan, the show stage of the centennial propaganda campaign of Armenia, should be considered in this context as well.

While we expect Russia to attach importance to Turkey’s friendship and take into consideration Turkey’s sensitivities, its insistence on wrongdoing will not help peace, prosperity and welfare in our region.

The only thing that Russia can do in this issue is to leave its biased attitude aside and encourage Armenia and the Armenians to respond positively to the calls of Turkey for peace and friendship.