Germany’s relations with Turkey broad, strong: Merkel

BERLIN / YEREVAN

Germany’s relations with Turkey remain “broad and strong,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said following the approval of a resolution recognizing the World War I-era killings of Anatolian Armenians at the hands of Ottomans as “genocide.”

Put forward by the ruling left-right coalition and the opposition Greens, the resolution entitled “Remembrance and commemoration of the genocide of Armenians and other Christian minorities in 1915 and 1916” carries the contentious word throughout the text.

“There is a lot that binds Germany to Turkey and even if we have a difference of opinion on an individual matter, the breadth of our links, our friendship, our strategic ties, is great,” Merkel said at a news conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. 

The chancellor added that Germany supported dialogue between Turkey and Armenia and sought good relations with Ankara.

The result of the vote received welcome from Yerevan, as the country’s foreign minister praised the recognition as Germany’s contribution “not only to the international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide, but also to the universal fight for the prevention of genocides, crimes against humanity.” 

“Armenia welcomes the adoption of the resolution by the Bundestag,” Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Stoltenberg said he hoped for the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia “as soon as possible.” 

Yerevan has long sought international recognition of the mass killings as "genocide," but Ankara rejects the use of the term to describe the World War I-era killings and argues that it was a collective tragedy in which equal numbers of Turks and Armenians died.