Turkey summons envoy over US move on Armenian claims

Turkey on Friday summoned the US ambassador in Ankara over a US congressional resolution on the Armenian claims concerning the events of 1915, diplomatic sources said.

Speaking to David Satterfield, Sedat Onal, deputy foreign minister, voiced Turkey's strong criticism of the resolution, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media.

Turkey's Foreign Minister also slammed the resolution after the US Senate on Thursday unanimously passed it recognising the Armenian claims on the events of 1915.

"Senate Resolution is nothing more than a political show. It is not legally binding and it has no validity whatsoever," Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter.

Cavusoglu said those who use history for political purposes are cowards who do not want to face the truth.

TRT World's Hasan Abdullah has more on Ankara's reaction.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry also issued a statement condemning the US move, saying the US resolution was one of the shameful examples of how history can be politicised.

Turkey's position on the events is that the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.

Turkey objects to the presentation of the incidents as "genocide" but describes the 1915 events as a tragedy in which both sides suffered casualties.

Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia plus international experts to examine the issue.