UPDATE - German 'genocide' motion provokes Turkish backlash

ADDS MORE QUOTES FROM PM AND DEPUTY PM

ANKARA (AA) - The German parliamentary resolution recognizing the deaths of Ottoman Armenians in 1915 as genocide drew a fierce reaction from Turkey on Thursday.

Speaking at an event in Ankara, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim called the resolution "fallacious", saying Turkey had nothing in its past to be ashamed of.

"The German parliament's acceptance of the so-called Armenian genocide is not something Turkey will accept," said Yildirim.

In his remarks, he announced the recall of Turkey ambassador to Berlin. “We do not hesitate to take necessary steps, not even a second after seeing the resolution text comprehensively,” he said at an event in Ankara.

Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus described Thursday’s vote in the Bundestag as “null and void” from a Turkish perspective, effectively saying Ankara would not recognize the resolution.

In a Twitter post he called for scientists and historians to be allowed to reach a conclusion on the deaths, not politicians.

“As Turkey, we certainly will give the necessary answer to this resolution on all platforms,” he tweeted.

Kurtulmus said that the German parliament's resolution that considers "twisted and baseless claims" as "genocide" was a historical mistake.

He also added that the resolution was detrimental to the friendly ties between Turkey and Germany.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu posted: “The way [for those] to close dark pages in their histories is not to defame the history of other countries through parliamentary resolution”.

The German parliament approved a non-binding resolution Thursday recognizing Armenian claims of “genocide” during the 1915 events. The resolution was approved by a large majority in the parliament’s lower house, Bundestag.

Only one lawmaker from German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic bloc, Bettina Kudla, voted against the motion.

It is not the task of German parliament to give historical assessments about the events in another state, Kudla said in German via her social media account @KudlaLeipzig.

The events of 1915 saw some of the Ottoman Empire’s Armenian population side with invading Russian forces, resulting in numerous deaths in the subsequent fighting and relocation of Armenians.

Turkey accepts that many died on both sides but says this did not amount to "genocide" and has repeatedly called for the creation of an international commission to resolve the issue.

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