A Turkish flag is at half-staff, on Nov 27, 2017 at Taksim square in Istanbul. Turkey's Foreign Ministry on Jan 12, 2018 issued a travel advisory for citizens travelling to the US, urging them to consider increasing terror acts and arbitrary arrests. (YASIN AKGUL / AFP)
ISTANBUL – Turkey denounced on Saturday US President Joe Biden's statement of recognizing the mass killing against Armenians more than a century ago as "genocide," Turkish Foreign Ministry announced in a written statement.
"We reject and denounce in the strongest terms the statement of the President of the US regarding the events of 1915," the ministry noted, adding that the statement does not have a scholarly and legal basis, nor is it supported by any evidence.
Turkey noted that US President Joe Biden's declaration will open a "deep wound" that undermines mutual trust and friendship between the two countries
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"With regards to the events of 1915, none of the conditions required for the use of the term 'genocide' that is strictly defined in international law are met," the statement said.
It noted that Biden's declaration will open a "deep wound" that undermines mutual trust and friendship between the two countries.
The Turkish ministry also called on the US president to correct "this grave mistake, which serves no purpose other than to satisfy certain political circles."
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