Italy calls Turkey's 'tough tone' against Pope's remarks 'unjustified'

(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Italy has weighed into the diplomatic stand-off between the Vatican and Turkey over Pope Francis' description of the 1915 events involving Armenians as "genocide," saying the "toughness" of Ankara's reaction to the pontiff's remarks "does not seem justified".

Speaking to journalists on the fringes of an EU-Mediterranean conference in Barcelona, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said: "The toughness of the Turkish tone does not seem justified, especially when taking into account the fact that 15 years ago, John Paul II had expressed similar remarks."

Gentiloni added that "we always have invited the two friend countries Armenia and Turkey to engage in dialogue to avoid these situations being an obstacle" to the re-establishment of relations.

Italy has consistently supported Turkish membership of the European Union.

Earlier on Monday, Turkey's head of religious affairs, Mehmet Gormez, criticized Pope Francis's description of the 1915 events as "genocide".

Gormez said in Hatay: "It is upsetting that political lobbies and PR firms around the world have extended [their activities] to religious institutions' rites and prayers."

Turkey's Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek also condemned Pope Francis' remarks on Monday, describing them as "slander" and "discrimination".

"It is a statement which provokes political discrimination, racism and hate speech," Cicek said.

The debate on "genocide" allegations and the differing opinions between the present day Turkish government and the Armenian diaspora, along with the current administration in Yerevan, still generates political tension between Turks and Armenians.

Turkey's official position against allegations of "genocide" is that it acknowledges the past experiences were a great tragedy and that both parties suffered heavy casualties, including hundreds of Muslim Turks.

The 1915 events took place during World War I when a portion of the Armenian population living in the Ottoman Empire sided with the invading Russians and revolted against the empire.

The Ottoman Empire relocated Armenians in eastern Anatolia following the revolts and there were Armenian casualties during the relocation process.

Armenia has demanded an apology and compensation, while Turkey has officially refuted Armenian allegations over the incidents saying that, although Armenians died during the relocations, many Turks also lost their lives in attacks carried out by Armenian gangs in Anatolia.

Ankara agrees that there were certainly Armenian casualties during World War I, but says that it is impossible to define these incidents as "genocide."

In 2014, then Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his condolences for the first time to all Ottoman citizens who lost their lives in the events of 1915.

"May Armenians who lost their lives in the events in the early twentieth century rest in peace, and we convey our condolences to their grandchildren," Erdogan said.