Turkey's Parliament protested yesterday over a decision by the Polish National Assembly to recognize the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks 90 years ago as "genocide". Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said Turkey was canceling several meetings between Turkish and Polish lawmakers in protest.
Turkey strongly denies the claims that some 1.5 million Armenians perished in what is called a systematic genocide orchestrated by the Ottoman government in 1915-1923. It says the Armenians were victims of a war, which claimed even more Turkish lives. Last week, Poland's Parliament became the latest in a string of national assemblies, including those of France and Canada, to recognize the killings as genocide. Russia's State Duma also reaffirmed its long-standing support for the Armenian claims. |