Turkey recalls envoy to Vatican over Pope's 'genocide' remarks

Turkey has recalled its ambassador to the Vatican for consultation amid a worsening diplomatic row over Pope Francis' comments describing the 1915 killing of Armenians "the first genocide of the 20th century."

"Our ambassador to the Vatican Mr0 Mehmet Pacaci is being recalled back to Turkey for consultations," Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

It added that the pope's remarks were "incompatible with the legal and historical facts."

The ministry said the pope has a "selective overview" of World War I and ignores "the atrocities suffered by the Turkish and Muslim peoples who lost their lives" to the benefits of Christians and above all Armenians.

The pontiff's comments were a "serious deviation" from the message of peace and reconciliation he brought during his landmark visit to Turkey in November last year, the ministry added, emphasizing that the Turkish people would not recognize the pope’s remarks which it described as "null and void."

"Our views were made clear on this matter when the Vatican envoy was invited to our ministry today," the statement said in a reference to the summoning of the Vatican envoy in Ankara.

In his Twitter account earlier on Sunday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also said, "The pope's statement, which is far from historic and legal truths, is unacceptable."

"Religious positions are not places where unfounded claims are made and hatred is stirred," he added.

In controversial remarks during a Sunday solemn mass in Saint Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis used the word "genocide" to describe the massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces during World War I.

Referring to a statement signed by John Paul II and the Armenian patriarch in 2001, Francis said, “The first, which is widely considered 'the first genocide of the 20th century', struck your own Armenian people."

The 78-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church added, "We recall the centenary of that tragic event, that immense and senseless slaughter whose cruelty your forebears had to endure."

"It is necessary, and indeed a duty, to honor their memory, for whenever memory fades, it means that evil allows wounds to fester," Francis said.

Ankara rejects the term “genocide” and instead says the 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians, and at least as many Turks, who perished between 1915 and 1917 were the casualties of World War I.

Armenia, however, says up to 1.5 million of its people were killed and demands that their death be recognized as genocide.

Armenia, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Russia and Uruguay formally recognize the incident as genocide.

SF/KA/SS

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