MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th October, 2019) Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has hailed the US House of Representatives resolution recognizing and condemning the Armenian genocide, passed on Monday.
"I salute the US Congress historic vote recognizing the Armenian Genocide. Resolution 296 is a bold step towards serving truth and historical justice that also offers comfort to millions of descendants of the Armenian Genocide survivors," Pashinyan wrote on Twitter.
Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan also welcomed the resolution, saying on Twitter that it was a "massive message against denialism."
Meanwhile the Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the resolution, saying in a Tuesday statement that it is devoid of historical or legal basis and is meant for domestic consumption only, with its "sole addressees" being the "Armenian lobby and anti-Turkey groups."
Pashinyan wrote on Twitter that he was very thankful to Armenian-Americans for their efforts in support of the resolution.
"My heartfelt congratulations to my Armenian compatriots all over the world and admiration to generations of Armenian-Americans, whose selfless activism and perseverance were the driving force and the inspiration behind today's historic vote," the Armenian prime minister said.
According to the Turkish foreign ministry, the new US resolution is against US and international law and is not in line with the principles defined in the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The Turkish ministry claimed on Tuesday that the resolution could simply be an attempt to "take vengeance" by those who have failed to stop Turkey's Operation Peace Spring launched in northern Syria.
According to different estimates, more than one million Armenians were killed or starved to death by the Ottoman Empire during and after World War I. Turkey has repeatedly denied accusations of committing genocide, claiming that the victims of the violence were both Armenians and Turks.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry stressed in its Tuesday statement that the US resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide could harm bilateral relations that are already strained because of the Syrian issue.
