Turkey summons Dutch diplomat over Armenian Genocide recognitionFebruary 23, 2018 - 13:26 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey summoned the Dutch charge d‘affaires to Ankara on Friday, February 23 regarding the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the Netherlands’ parliament, Anadolu Agency said in a tweed. The Dutch diplomat was called in earlier too when reports on the Dutch parliament’s intention to acknowledge the Genocide first surface. Turkey’s foreign ministry condemned the Dutch parliament’s move, adding that the decision was not legally binding or valid, and noted that the Dutch government had said it would not become the official policy of the Netherlands. Under another motion, also approved on Thursday, a Dutch cabinet representative should attend the commemoration of Genocide in Armenia in April. The Armenian foreign ministry, meanwhile, said Yerevan highly appreciates the debates held in the Parliament of Netherlands and the decisions adopted as a result. "With this step, the Parliament of the Netherlands once again reconfirmed its commitment to universal human values and the noble cause of prevention of genocides and crimes against humanity," foreign minister Edward Nalbandian said. The Dutch parliament had in April 2015 passed a binding resolution recognizing the genocide of Assyrians, Greeks and Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War One. Some three dozen countries, hundreds of local government bodies and international organizations have so far recognized the killings of 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as Genocide. Turkey denies to this day. Related links: Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. Azerbaijan razes historic Armenian church to ground Azerbaijan has demolished the historic Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist (known as Kanach Zham). |