Slovenia supports the efforts of Armenia to achieve full recognition of the 1915 massacre of the Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide, a spokesperson for the Slovenian Foreign Ministry told Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Czech President Milos Zeman said he would ask his country’s parliament to adopt a resolution recognizing the killings of Armenians in 1915 by the Turks as genocide.
“The Republic of Slovenia fully respects Armenia’s efforts to achieve genocide recognition, because massacres, death marches, and unbearable living conditions have fatally marked Armenians’ identity and historical and cultural heritage,” the spokesperson said, adding that “Slovenia deeply regrets the tragic events of 100 years ago.”
Moreover, Turkey and Armenia should join forces to address the mass killings of Armenians in 1915, that would help to prevent the repeat of such atrocities in the future, a spokesperson for the Slovenian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik Wednesday.
“Slovenia believes that the issue of mass killings of Armenians should be addressed, above all, by Armenia and Turkey,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson reiterated the words of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that keeping the memory of the victims alive and establishing cooperation between Armenia and Turkey in identifying facts could contribute to prevention of similar atrocities.
“Slovenia also believes that positive steps towards resolving historical issues will contribute to peace, security and stability in the region and around the globe,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that Slovenia devotes particular attention to genocide prevention, “because numerous crisis areas where people experience mass violence remind us repeatedly that continued efforts are necessary to prevent crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.”