Turkish Parliament ready to recognize genocide of Native Americans

Turkish Parliament MP Ozturk Yilmaz said that the Grand National Assembly of Turkey will recognize the genocide of Native Americans in the United States, if such a resolution is put to a vote.

"If such a request is submitted in parliament, then I think a decision will be made," he said, recalling the relevant initiative of Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The deputy also stressed that he strongly condemns the decision of the U.S. Senate regarding the events of 1915.

Earlier, it was reported that Erdogan threatened to recognize mass killings of Native Americans during the colonial period as genocide after the resolution was passed in the U.S. Senate on Armenian allegations over the events of 1915.

Professor at Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University Togrul İsmayil, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that such initiatives by the Turkish authorities testify to how heavily the Turkish-U.S. relations were affected by the U.S. Senate's decision to recognize the tragic events of 1915 as the 'Armenian genocide'. "All parliamentary parties in Turkey condemned the United States in applying double standards, and in general, Turkey-U.S. relations are no longer positive after that," he said.

"At the same time, everyone perfectly understands what this recognition really means - the U.S. is trying to put pressure on Turkey to force it to abandon independent politics," Togrul İsmayil drew attention.

The expert regretted that the topic of genocide has become so politicized in the world. "I think that the Turkish president's statement and his support in our parliament is exclusively political: Ankara emphasizes that it is able to respond to the U.S. symmetrically. As a result, Erdogan noted that the actions of the U.S. Congress are only political pressure, and doesn't bind Turkey to anything," the professor at Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University said.