Islamabad/Ankara / Lefkosa, 25 April 2021 (Anadolu News)

In response to Saturday’s US President Joe Biden’s recognition of the events of 1915 during the Ottoman Empire era as a “genocide,” against Armenians, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister on Sunday supported Turkey’s thesis on the events of 1915.  In a phone call with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Shah Mahmood Qureshi stressed Pakistan’s support for Turkey’s take on the events of 1915, said an official statement.

“We believe that one-sided approaches and political categorization of historical events could undermine trust and lead to polarization between nations,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said in a statement.

The statement also praised Turkey’s constructive approach on the subject including Ankara’s proposal for a joint historical commission to explore the facts.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry thanked Pakistan for its support, saying on Twitter: “Thank you brotherly Pakistan! Long live Turkey-Pakistan friendship!”

The political parties in Azerbaijan condemned Joe Biden’s announcement. In a joint statement reported by the state news agency Azertac, 48 parties said Armenians lost their lives due to harsh conditions of World War I, famine and diseases, adding more Turks lost their lives during the same period, but this fact “was intentionally overlooked.”

“If the goal is an objective study of historical facts, the historical reality should not be distorted for political purposes and this work should be entrusted to specialized international research institutions, as well as well-known historians.

“Political parties operating in Azerbaijan state they have always stood by brotherly Turkey and strongly condemn the position of the US President on the so-called “Armenian genocide,” who nurtures the sick Armenians ideals. Such approaches provoke intolerance between countries and peoples and pose a threat to the sustainable peaceful development of regions and humanity as a whole,” it concluded.

In Lefkosa, Capital of TRNC, The Turkish Cypriot president on Sunday also condemned US President Joe Biden’s recent “unfortunate statement”. “I strongly condemn Mr. Biden’s statement, which distorts historical facts,” Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar said in a written statement, adding that the Turkish nation protects minorities in every region it is present in, ensuring their rights and freedoms.

If they are looking for genocide, those who try to slander the history of the Turkish nation for the sake of political purposes should look at the systematic atrocities carried out by the Greek Cypriot terror organization EOKA in 1963-1974 against the Turkish Cypriots, he added, referring to the violence that led to Turkey’s intervention to protect Turkish Cypriots.

Turkish stance on 1915 events

Turkey’s position on the events of 1915 is that the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties. Turkey objects to the presentation of these incidents as “genocide,” describing them as a tragedy in which both sides suffered casualties.

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

In 2014, then-Prime Minister Erdogan expressed condolences to the descendants of Armenians who lost their lives in the events of 1915.

The head of Turkish parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee said Saturday that the US attitude on the events is unrelated to historical facts. Biden’s assessment of the events caused serious disappointment due to the way the US lost its moderate approach in line with the proper understanding of a state, Akif Cagatay Kilic said in a statement.

“It is a known fact that the Armenian lobby, which has significant electoral power in the US, has been working for decades to distort the historical facts and aiming to achieve political gains by the US administration, and has concentrated its efforts in this direction especially on the Biden camp since before the 2020 presidential elections,” he said.

Citing the historical facts from 1915, Kilic said thousands of Turkish citizens were brutally massacred by Armenian gangs, as proven by documents in the archives of many different states.

He concluded that Turkey and the history of the Turkish nation are spotless and cannot be stained by untrue statements or baseless claims.