Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian on Thursday denounced Turkey’s furious reaction to the European Parliament’s latest calls for an official Turkish recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire.
Nalbandian also said that a corresponding resolution adopted by the European Union’s legislative body as well as a similar statement made by Pope Francis show that Ankara is finding itself “increasingly isolated on the sinking ship of denialism.”
“Turkey is trying to exert pressure on and, I would even say, blackmail numerous countries and international structures,” he said in comments to RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). “But it will hardly succeed on this issue.”
Nalbandian welcomed the European Parliament resolution shortly after its overwhelming passage on Wednesday evening. By contrast, the Turkish Foreign Ministry accused EU lawmakers of “mutilating history” and being driven by a “religious and cultural fanaticism.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan added his voice to the strong condemnation on Thursday. “Such decisions are nothing but an expression of enmity against Turkey by exploiting Armenians,” “Hurriyet Daily News” quoted him as saying.
Ankara reacted just as strongly after Pope Francis referred to the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians as “the first genocide of the 20th century” during a Sunday mass in St. Peter’s basilica. It recalled the Turkish ambassador to the Vatican in protest.
“It’s good that Ankara was prudent enough not to recall its ambassadors from the 28 [EU] countries,” quipped Nalbandian. “Otherwise, the Turkish ambassadors there would have faced a serious problem of unemployment.”
The European Parliament resolution was also praised by representatives of Armenia’s leading political parties. Artak Zakarian, the pro-government chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on foreign relations, said EU parliamentarians acted in good faith. “Nobody was under the influence of aggressive Armenian propaganda,” he told reporters.
“Turkey is losing on not only the diplomatic but also international public opinion front,” said Giro Manoyan of the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation. “This will definitely have an impact on the Turkish society.”