On the day that Greece honours the Genocide of the Greeks of Pontus by the Turks, the Turkish Foreign Ministry isued a statement in an effort to falsify history once again by denying it ever happened.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry claimed the statements on the issue made by Greek authorities were “delusional” while suggesting these “allegations” completely distort history.”

In the statement, the Turks referred to anti-Turkish lobbies that were trying to deceive the public and “mislead the young generations” regarding the historical events.

At the same time, the Turkish Foreign Minister calls on our country to … “face the events related to the crimes against humanity […] committed by the Greeks during the invasion and occupation of Anatolia”, referring to the Asia Minor Campaign of 1919- 1922. However, Ankara does not stop there and goes back another 100 years, specifically to the Greek Revolution of 1821, accusing Greece of massacring all the Turks during the liberation of Tripoli in 1821.

The Greek Genocide has been recognised by a number of international parliamentary bodies both in its entirety and by region. To date, the only country to recognize the Greek Genocide in its entirety is Armenia (2015).

The complete statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry:

We categorically reject the delusional statements made by the Greek authorities on the pretext of the anniversary of the unfounded “Pontian” claims, which completely distort history.

It is regrettable to see that the Greek authorities continue their irrational efforts to misrepresent history. We also condemn the efforts of the anti-Türkiye lobbies to deceive public by bringing these biased claims to the agenda in third countries.

It is clear that the efforts of those who try to draw enmity from history and mislead the young generations will not serve peace and stability.

Instead of relying on falsified historical narratives contradicting reality, it would be more reasonable for Greece to face the facts regarding the crimes against humanity that were established by the Lausanne Peace Treaty, as included in the report of the Allied Powers Investigation Commission, committed by Greece during its occupation and invasion attempt of Anatolia. Likewise, it would be appropriate for those who make such unfounded claims to remember the brutal crimes and atrocities perpetrated against other religious or ethnic groups, particularly the Turks, including the 1821 Tripolitsa massacre.

We invite Greece to work together for peace, stability and a prosperous future on the basis of cooperation instead of trying to distort the facts.