TURKEY RECALLS AMBASSADOR IN SWEDEN PROTESTING ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’ RESOLUTION
RTTNews.com
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March 12 2010
(RTTNews) – Swedish Parliament’s passage of a resolution describing
as "genocide" the killings of Armenians by Turkish forces during
World War I evoked strong reaction from Turkey, which recalled its
Ambassador to Stockholm.
Turkey had recalled its Ambassador to Washington last week responding
to a similar resolution passed by the U.S. Congressional Committee.
Incidentally, both the resolutions were passed by one vote, overcoming
opposition by the governments of Sweden and the United States.
The Opposition-sponsored resolution was passed Thursday after several
members of Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt’s ruling center-right
coalition crossed floor.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has canceled next week’s
visit to Sweden in protest, saying that his country had been accused
of a crime it did not commit.
In a statement rejecting the Parliament vote on Friday, Erdogan
accused Stockholm of trying to take political mileage ahead of the
general elections due in September this year.
He added that it puts "the close friendship of our two nations"
at stake.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said the vote was a "mistake"
but that it did not change the position of his government, which
supports Turkey’s entry into the European Union.
Armenians contend that up to 1.5 million of their people were
systematically killed by the Ottoman Turks during World War I.
More than 20 countries have recognized the killings as ‘genocide.’
Turkey, a key American ally and fellow NATO member, has long denied
the genocide claim, saying the number of Armenians killed is much
lower and that they were victims in the chaotic collapse of the
Ottoman empire, prior to the birth of modern Turkey in 1923.