Brazil regrets Turkey's reaction to resolution passed in solidarity with Armenia

The Brazilian government expressed regret on Tuesday (Jun 9) over Turkey's decision to recall its ambassador to Brazil for consultations in Ankara as a means to protest against a resolution approved by the Brazilian Senate a week ago in solidarity with the Armenian people.

The resolution acknowledges the doings of the Ottoman Empire during the First World War as a genocide. The attack started on April 24, 1915, and lasted for two years. Approximately 1,5 million Armenians were killed.

According to Brazil's Foreign Ministry, Turkish Ambassador Hüseyin Diriöz was summoned back to the ministry on June 1, when he received clarifications from Secretary General for Foreign Relations Sergio Danese about the proceedings underway at the Senate.  

“The Federal Senate worked within its constitutional prerogatives and in compliance with the principle of independence of powers as defined by the Brazilian Constitution,” the Brazilian Foreign Ministry announced, adding that “the Brazilian government expects that its bilateral relations with Turkey, formally regarded as strategic by both countries, are fully restored soon.”

In a press release, the Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the decision made by the Senate, which Turkish officials describe as a distortion of historical facts. In April, Turkey withdrew its envoy to the Vatican after Pope Francis referred to the massacre of the Armenian people as a genocide. Turkish diplomats declared that the pope's statement was unfounded and detached from the historical reality.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira