Turkey Condemns French Declaration of Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day

Turkey has expressed strong condemnation of French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement to recognize April 24 as a day to commemorate the Armenian genocide, an issue that has historically strained relations between Turkey and European Union countries.

Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin stated that the country “condemns and rejects” the actions of Macron, suggesting that he is leveraging historical events for political gain amid challenges in his own country.

While Turkey acknowledges that many Armenians within the Ottoman Empire were killed during conflicts with Ottoman forces during World War I, it disputes the estimated figures and denies that the killings were part of a systematic campaign that would qualify as genocide.