01 June 2016•Update: 08 June 2016
ANKARA
Ankara does not want to see relations with Berlin damaged, as the German parliament prepares to vote on a resolution aimed at recognizing the deaths of Armenians in 1915 as ‘genocide’, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Wednesday.
Yildirim's remarks were delivered to reporters at Esenboga Airport in the Turkish capital ahead of his first official visit to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
"We do not have anything secret or hidden...Let the past and history of all countries be investigated. But, let historians do this,” he said.
Last month, German lawmaker Albert Weiler announced that the country’s parliament would consider voting on the Armenian resolution on Thursday this week.
Yildirim warned that history was being made an “instrument of politics”.
Referring to Germany’s large Turkish community, Yildirim added: "I hope that the German parliament and decision makers will not turn a deaf ear to 3.5 million voters. Therefore, we do not desire that such a resolution be passed," Yildirim said.
"This is null and void for us but we do not want [it] passed," he added.
On Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Chancellor Angela Merkel by phone to share Ankara's sensitivities over the resolution.
Last year, German parliamentary parties approved the resolution in principle but had sent it to a committee for further work.
The deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia in 1915 occurred after some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.
Turkey rejects labeling the deaths as "genocide" but acknowledges that large numbers of people died on both sides.
*Anadolu Agency correspondent Diyar Guldogan contributed to this story.
