Three Turkish Parties Condemn EP’s Resolution on Armenian Genocide

Three Turkish parties condemned Thursday the European Parliament's resolution on the Armenian genocide.

ANKARA (Sputnik) – Three Turkish parties represented in the country's parliament condemned Thursday the European Parliament's resolution on the Armenian genocide.

On Wednesday, the European Parliament in a resolution called on Turkey to recognize the Armenian genocide in order to pave a way for "genuine reconciliation."

"We were sorry about the resolution by the European Parliament that has not legal power. We strongly condemn its bias that runs against the notion of peace, tolerance and creation of common future instead of wars and conflicts," the parties said in a joint statement.

The three Turkish parties that condemned the resolution include the ruling Justice Party, Republican People's Party and Nationalist Movement Party.

The Armenian Genocide refers to the Ottoman government's extermination of Armenians in their historical homeland during World War I. Yerevan estimates put the number of Armenians killed by the Ottoman government at up to 1.5 million people.

Turkey insists that the death toll is largely exaggerated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest. As of today, 23 countries have officially recognized the event as genocide.