Turkish Foreign Ministry released a condemnation statement concerning Pope Francis' visit to Armenia and statements that he made during that visit. The ministry claimed that the Pope committed religious discrimination and argued that this visit “doesn't contribute to the peace and stability in Southern Caucasus.”
Here
is the statement that was released on the official website of the
ministry today:
“Pope Francis, during his visit to Armenia, visited the so-called genocide monument, made unfortunate statements about 1915 events, addressed to 1915 events in an unacceptable way in the joint statement that he signed with the Armenian Catholicosate and repeated the claims that are proven wrong. These developments indicate that Pope Francis unconditionally subscribes to Armenian narration concerning 1915 events, which contradicts both reality and law.
In fact, the statements made before the visit and preparations revealed that this visit has been abused and unfortunately Pope Francis frustrated Turkey and Turkish nation, like he did last year, by committing religious discrimination; he made a religions-based distinction between suffering and loss that happened during World War I.
We regretfully observed that Pope Francis' visit to Armenia doesn't contribute to peace and stability that Southern Caucasus needs in these critical times, as the clashes happened in Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact and in some places along Armenian-Azerbaijani border proved.
On the other hand, the people who represent holy seats like papacy are expected to work for fellowship and peace and to adopt a peacemaking attitude that respects law.”
