Erdogan Responds to US Congress

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the US resolution on recognizing the Armenian genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire. He called the decree which passed in the House of Representatives ‘worthless’ and ‘insulting’.   

“I am addressing US public opinion and the entire world: this step which was taken is worthless and we do not recognize it,” Erdogan said in a televized speech. “In our faith, genocide is definitely banned,” he said. “We consider such an accusation to be the biggest insult to our people.”

Erdogan believes that the resolution was politically motivated, in response to the Turkish aggression against the Kurds in northeastern Syria. He also put forward the idea of Turkish Parliament passing a ‘counter resolution’ and further underlined that these sorts of ‘recognition’ of the genocide seriously harm Turkish relations with different actors.

Responding to the House’s decision, President Erdogan said: “We do not recognize this step, this decision you have taken. […] The countries who have stains of genocide, slavery, colonialism in their history have no right to give lessons to Turkey.”

The Resolution passed on October 29, with 405 lawmakers approving it while 11 went against it. For decades the world has avoided officially labeling the 1915 killings of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians as genocide executed at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, the precursor to the Republic of Turkey.

By Beka Alexishvili