The Turkish Ambassador in Washington has said about U.S. President Barack Obama's statement about the 1915 incidents, "President Obama's statement is a wrongful, distorted and unilateral political description of the history. We deeply regret it."
Tan said, "the third parties' making judgments about the history of Turkey-Armenian relations on the basis of their own domestic political assessments is totally unacceptable."
"Such unfair statements will further complicate efforts to find a fair recollection about the common history of Turks and Armenians. Unilateral interpretation of griefs in the history will not serve compromise and peace between the parties. Instead, the USA should encourage dialogue and normalization between Turkey and Armenia. The USA should not prevent it with unilateral and politically motivated statements," he added.
U.S. President Obama described the incidents of 1915 as a "great tragedy" in a presidential statement he released on April 23 about the incidents of 1915.
In his message, Obama used the Armenian expression "Meds Yeghern", meaning "great tragedy" in Turkish, while describing the incidents of 1915, just like he did in a similar statement last year.
Paying tribute to the memories of those who perished, Obama said, "a full, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts is in all our interests. A contested history destabilizes the present and stains the memory of those whose lives were taken."
He said it was important to ensure the killings would never repeated and eulogized efforts by individuals in Armenia and Turkey to explore reconciliation.
President Obama also praised efforts in Armenia and Turkey to foster a dialogue that acknowledges their common history.
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