Turkey slams Italian parliament’s move on 1915 events

Turkish presidential communications director on Wednesday slammed the Italian parliament’s move to declare the 1915 events as “genocide”.

“We strongly condemn the Italian parliament’s most recent attempt at distorting and politicising our nation’s history,” Fahrettin Altun said on Twitter.

On Wednesday, Italy's Lower House at the parliament adopted a motion with 382 votes in favour and 43 abstentions to declare the 1915 events as "genocide."

Turkey's position is that the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia in 1915 took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.

Ankara does not accept the alleged genocide but acknowledges that there were casualties on both sides during the events of World War I.

Altun said the Italian parliament's move is “unproductive, hostile and deplorable.”

“Instead of attacking each other’s memories, we must all work together to ensure that truth prevails over fiction,” Altun added.

Turkey objects to the presentation of the 1915 incidents as "genocide" but describes the 1915 events as a tragedy for both sides.

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