Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday reiterated its call for continued support of the normalization process between Türkiye and Armenia, while firmly rejecting statements made about the 1915 events that it said contradict historical facts and international law.
In a statement, the ministry emphasized Türkiye’s commitment to advancing the normalization dialogue with Armenia and urged international actors to contribute constructively to the process.
“We stress that the efforts of radical circles to draw animosity from history should not be encouraged and reiterate our call to support the ongoing normalization process between Türkiye and Armenia,” the ministry said.
The statement also addressed recent remarks made about the mass killings and deportations of Armenians during the final years of the Ottoman Empire — events that some countries label as genocide, a characterization Türkiye strongly rejects.
“We categorically reject the statements on the events of 1915, made in violation of historical facts and international law. Such attempts, which clearly aim to exploit the pains of the past for political motives, are totally null and void,” the ministry added.
Ankara maintains that the events of 1915 should be studied by historians and not politicized, arguing that many lives, including those of Turks and Muslims, were lost during the broader context of World War I.
The ministry continued by saying that Türkiye has always advocated the promotion of peace, dialogue, mutual understanding and interest.
“With this understanding, Türkiye has opened its archives, and proposed the establishment of a Joint Historical Commission for a just and scholarly examination of the events of 1915,” the ministry said.
Earlier this month, Armenia said full normalization was a shared goal with Türkiye.
Last month, Armenia and Azerbaijan reached an agreement on the text of a peace treaty.
After the Second Karabakh War, which started between Azerbaijan and Armenia in September 2020 and continued for 44 days, the ice was broken between Ankara and Yerevan. In December 2021, the two nations appointed special envoys to help normalize relations and in February 2022, Türkiye and Armenia resumed their first commercial flights after a two-year hiatus. Serdar Kılıç was appointed as representative for the process on the Turkish side, while Rubinyan was appointed for Armenia.