ANKARA (Sputnik) — On June 2, the Brazilian Senate adopted a resolution recognizing the crimes and atrocities committed against the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. Turkey condemned the move saying it distorts the historical truths and ignores the law.
"Political decisions of this nature, taken under the influence of the Armenian lobbies can neither change the historical facts nor the legal norms. Our views have been conveyed to the Ambassador of Brazil in Ankara. Turkish Ambassador in Brasilia, Huseyin Dirioz has also been recalled to Ankara for consultations," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
In early May, Turkey withdrew its ambassador from Luxembourg after the Luxembourg Parliament passed a resolution, recognizing the mass killings of Armenians in 1915, qualifying them as a genocide.
Brazil joined dozens of other states and organizations that officially recognized the mass killings of Armenians in 1915, qualifying them as a genocide.
The Armenian genocide refers to a series of mass killings ordered by the Ottoman Empire during and after World War I, culminating in 1915. According to Armenian figures, an estimated 1.5 million Armenians lost their lives during this period.
Turkey, the successor state of the Ottoman Empire, refuses to classify the killings as a "genocide," claiming that ethnic Turks were also among the victims.
