The Belgium parliament on Thursday voted in favour of a resolution recognising the Armenian genocide.
The decision was swiftly condemned by Turkey. In a statement issued on Friday, the Turkish foreign ministry said, Turkey had been “unfairly indicted, historical facts have been distorted and law has been ignored."
"The grave picture that has emerged with the July 23 decision of the Chamber of Deputies [was] met with regret by the Belgian Turkish community and has deeply impacted our bilateral relations,” the statement added.
"It should be understood that this and similar decisions that have been made do not serve the Turkish-Armenian conciliation in any way".
The move has been widely welcomed by the Armenian community however, and follows a statement by the Belgium prime minister last month where he said the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman empire, must be viewed as a genocide.
In May, a Belgian party, the Democratic Humanist Centre party (CDH) expelled its deputy leader for refusing to call the mass killing of Armenians in 1915 by the Ottoman Empire genocide.
In a tide of solidarity with the Armenian people, Germany, Brazil and the Pope were the latest over recent months to express their recognition of the Armenian genocide.
The decision was swiftly condemned by Turkey. In a statement issued on Friday, the Turkish foreign ministry said, Turkey had been “unfairly indicted, historical facts have been distorted and law has been ignored."
"The grave picture that has emerged with the July 23 decision of the Chamber of Deputies [was] met with regret by the Belgian Turkish community and has deeply impacted our bilateral relations,” the statement added.
"It should be understood that this and similar decisions that have been made do not serve the Turkish-Armenian conciliation in any way".
The move has been widely welcomed by the Armenian community however, and follows a statement by the Belgium prime minister last month where he said the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman empire, must be viewed as a genocide.
In May, a Belgian party, the Democratic Humanist Centre party (CDH) expelled its deputy leader for refusing to call the mass killing of Armenians in 1915 by the Ottoman Empire genocide.
In a tide of solidarity with the Armenian people, Germany, Brazil and the Pope were the latest over recent months to express their recognition of the Armenian genocide.