Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 18 2015

Davutoðlu says neither Pope nor European Parliament can talk down to Turkey

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoðlu (Photo: Today’s Zaman, Mustafa Kirazlý)

April 18, 2015, Saturday/ 17:46:59/ TODAYSZAMAN.COM / ISTANBUL

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoðlu has said neither pope nor the
European Parliament can look down on Turkey as he continued his
criticisms of decisions by Pope Francis and the European Parliament
(EP) to publicly describe the 1915 mass killings of Armenians as a
“genocide.”

“We are ready to share the pains. However, they [Europeans] cannot do
one thing to us. Neither the pope with his religious identity nor the
European Parliament, which has almost become the voice of racism
recently, can talk down to Turkey. Nobody can speak to us with
arrogance. We do not let this. Anyone who would like to talk to us
will speak from the eye level,” Davutoðlu said on Saturday.

The European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution that refers
to the mass killings of Armenians during World War I as “genocide”
late on Wednesday and called on Turkey to end its policy of denial.
The European Parliament’s resolution came shortly after Pope Francis
described the 1915 events as “the first genocide of the 20th century”
during Mass last Sunday.

Immediately after the vote, the Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a
statement condemning the resolution. It claimed in the statement that
the European Parliament is “contriving obstacles to the development of
Turkey-EU relations [and has] aspired once again to rewrite history
regarding the 1915 events.”

The Foreign Ministry also said the text adopted by the European
Parliament on Wednesday only repeats the “anti-Turkish clichés of the
Armenian propaganda,” adding that it has made a mistake incompatible
with international law and has exceeded its competence.