Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said late on Wednesday that Germany should turn back from the wrong step it has taken, referring to a recent resolution calling Armenian killings during World War I a “genocide.”
Speaking at Ankara’s Esenboğa Airport before leaving for the United States to attend the funeral of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, Erdoğan said that if Germany fails to turn back from its wrong step, then Turkey has to take steps too. “The process after this [the passing of the resolution in the parliament], will not be the same as it was before,” Erdoğan said after being asked whether Turkey would impose sanctions to Germany over the Armenian vote.
Last Friday, the German parliament passed a symbolic resolution that labels the killings of Armenians by Ottoman forces during 1915 and 1916 a “genocide”. The move prompted outrage in Turkey as Turkey does not consider the killings as genocide and says that there had been casualties from both sides during a time of war.