Luxemburg became on Wednesday the latest country to recognize the 1915 Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire with a resolution unanimously adopted by its parliament.
Noting similar moves by the European Parliament and a “growing number” of countries around the world, the tiny European state’s Chamber of Deputies said it believes the slaughter of some 1.5 million Armenians constituted genocide. It said it is therefore “joining in the commemoration of the centenary of the Armenian genocide in the spirit of European solidarity and justice.”
The resolution goes on to praise Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu for offering their condolences to descendants of Armenians massacred by the Ottoman Turks. But it says Ankara should go further and explicitly recognize the massacres as genocide.
Such a move would “constitute a national and European gesture important and honorable for the Turkish Republic,” according to the Luxembourg parliament.
Armenia was quick to praise the resolution, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Tigran Balayan posting a photocopy of the document on his Facebook and Twitter pages. There was no immediate reaction from Turkey.
The Turkish government reacted furiously to a spate of similar declarations that were made by several other nations, including the Vatican, Germany and Austria, ahead of the genocide centennial that was marked in Armenia on April 24. Turkey’s ambassadors to the Vatican and Austria were recalled as a result. Ankara also condemned the presidents of Russia and France for attending April 24 ceremonies in Yerevan and reaffirming their countries’ recognition of the Armenian genocide.