Ankara called back its ambassador to Berlin in protest after German MPs voted through a resolution to call the killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire a genocide on Thursday.
The Turkish government has described the Bundestag’s approval of the Armenian genocide bill “null and void,” the Hurriyet Daily News reports.
“The fact that the German Parliament approved distorted and baseless claims as genocide is a historic mistake. The German Parliament’s approval of this bill is not a decision in line with friendly relations between Turkey and Germany. This decision is null and void for Turkey,” Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said.
“This is an issue that scientists and historians need to reach a conclusion on, not politicians or parliaments. As Turkey, we will surely give the necessary response to this decision in all platforms,” he added.
Meanwhile, Turkish Ambassador to Berlin Hüseyin Avni Karslıoglu has been recalled toAnkara for consultations over the decision.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavuşoglu took to Twitter to criticize the vote.
“The way to close dark pages in [Germany’s] own history is not to defame the history of other countries with irresponsible and baseless parliament decisions,” Cavuşoğlu tweeted.
