Turkey says Germany key ally despite Armenian Genocide recognition

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey on Friday, June 3 said Germany was still a key ally despite Ankara's fury over a parliament resolution that recognized the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman forces as genocide, AFP reports.

Seeking to keep the dispute from erupting into a full-blown crisis, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim emphasized the key relationship would continue while Berlin said ties were strong enough to weather splits.

The German lower house on Thursday passed a non-binding resolution recognizing the mass killings of Armenians from 1915 under the Ottoman Empire as genocide, prompting Ankara to recall its ambassador from Berlin for consultations.

"Germany and Turkey are two very important allies. No one should expect that relations will suddenly deteriorate completely because of this decision or similar decisions," Yildirim said.

"Whatever the circumstances, we will continue the relationship with our friends and our allies," he added.

Pointing to a counter resolution passed by the Turkish parliament condemning its German counterpart, he said Turkey would react and said ties had been "seriously damaged."

Beyond recalling the ambassador, it was not clear what concrete action Ankara could take against Berlin, and EU capitals will hope there is no knock-on effect on the controversial deal aimed at stemming the flow of migrants through Turkey, AFP says.

Many top officials and the press made no secret of their anger, with some implying Germany wanted to hide its own guilt for the Holocaust.

Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Germany wanted to say "'I am not the only one that committed genocide'."