ANKARA
Turkey expects a positive resolution over the 1915 events in the European Parliament’s upcoming session that will not lead to any hostilities, Turkey’s EU Minister Volkan Bozkir said in Ankara on Tuesday.
Bozkir remarks come a day before the European Parliament is set to submit a "resolution on the commemoration of the centennial of the Armenian genocide" in Brussels.
"The decision can be in two ways. We wish for a positive decision that would carry us into the future and recognize Turkey's efforts (to solve the issue)," he said.
However, if the resolution was accusatory, then the European Parliament would be deciding on an issue that was up to historians to decide; Turkey will consider such a move "null and void," he said. Bozkir added that in such a scenario, the permanent representative of Turkey in Brussels would also reject the resolution.
Previously, the European Parliament adopted a report on March 12 calling on EU members to recognize 1915 events as "genocide."
About Pope Francis' statement describing the 1915 incidents as "genocide" Sunday, Bozkir said: "We reject this remark."
He said the pope had set an extremely bad example. "Turkey is not ashamed of any part of its history. We are proud of our history," he said.
The minister also said that historical documents about the events were open to all for analysis.
The 1915 events took place during World War I when a portion of the Armenian population living in the Ottoman Empire sided with the invading Russians and revolted against the empire.
The Ottoman Empire relocated Armenians in eastern Anatolia following the revolts and there were Armenian casualties during the relocation process.
Armenia has demanded an apology and compensation, while Turkey has officially refuted Armenian allegations over the incidents saying that, although Armenians died during the relocations, many Turks also lost their lives in attacks carried out by Armenian gangs in Anatolia.
Ankara agrees that there were certainly Armenian casualties during World War I, but says that it is impossible to define these events as "genocide."
