April 25, 2022 - 11:02 AMT
Armenia slams top Turkish diplomat's nationalist gesture as "reprehensible"

Armenia has condemned Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's nationalist gesture demonstrated in front of the a group of Armenians as "reprehensible".

During his trip to Uruguay, Cavusoglu flashed the gesture of the nationalist Gray Wolves organization to demonstrators from the Armenian community in Uruguay who were marching in commemoration of the 107th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Following the incident, Uruguayan Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo decided to summon the Turkish ambassador to Uruguay, Huseyin Muftuoglu, to the Estevez Palace for Monday, April 25.

"On the eve of the 107th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the nationalist gesture of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, demonstrated in front of the representatives of the Armenian community in Montevideo, is a reprehensible act and does not contribute to the formation of an atmosphere of mutual understanding and dialogue between the two peoples," lawmaker Eduard Aghajanyan from the ruling Civil Contract party said in a statement.

"We welcome the immediate response of the Uruguayan side to the Turkish Ambassador's call to Foreign Ministry for explanations."