Prime Minister's statement on genocide: a common incident

Answering the questions concerning the Armenian Genocide resolution that will be voted in Bundestag tomorrow, Yıldırım said: “This voting is nonsense. It is a common incident that happened in every country and it happened in 1915 in Turkey, under the conditions of World War I. The ones who try to condemn Turkey because of this incident are malevolent.”

“We deem it null, but it shouldn't be passed anyway”

“We have nothing to hide about this issue and we say that everything should be investigated. Every sin should be revealed, but this must be done by historians. This shouldn't be used as a political instrument. So, our relations with Germany will be harmed, though we don't want that. Our president called Merkel and expressed our concerns and disquiet. Merkel also called me after I took the chair. I said to her that 3 million Turks living in Germany is the strongest link between Germany and Turkey. I hope that German decision makers won't ignore the will of 3 millions voters. We don't want this resolution to be passed. However, what happens if it passes? Nothing. Similar resolutions had been passed in different countries. We deem it null, but it shouldn't be passed anyway.”

Erdoğan: We don't have such a problem

Last evening, President Erdoğan called Merkel for expressing his concerns about the voting.

Speaking after the phone call, Erdoğan said: “Do we have a problem like so-called Armenian Genocide? No, we don't have such a problem. We feel comfortable about this. Over 3 million Turks live in Germany; we have high-level relations with Germany. If they play this game with us, our diplomatic, economic, commercial, political and military relations would be harmed. Furthermore, we are both NATO members. I believe that all these facts will be considered.”