Turkey recalls ambassador to Brazil over ‘genocide’ legislation

ANKARA

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu gestures during a press conference on May 14, 2015 in Antalya at the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in the southern Turkish city. AFP Photo

Turkey has recalled its ambassador to Brazil, Hüseyin Diriöz, for “consultations” after the Latin American country’s Senate passed legislation recognizing the killing of Ottoman Armenians in 1915 as genocide, a Foreign Ministry statement said late on June 8.

The ministry condemned the resolution and said it is an example of “irresponsibility that distorts and ignores historical realities of the 1915 incidents.”

“These decisions, which are taken under the influence of the Armenian lobby, can neither change historical facts nor the principle of laws,” added the statement.

Turkey summoned the Brazilian ambassador to Ankara on June 3 to convey these views, the statement also said.