Northern Cyprus slams Israel's recognition of Armenian genocide

The Turkish Cypriot 'foreign ministry' on Monday strongly criticized Israel's decision to recognize the mass displacement and death of 1.5 million ethnic Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as a genocide. The statement described the decision as a futile attempt to cover up crimes against humanity committed against the Palestinian people and state terrorism in the Middle East.

It noted that the Israeli government is currently before the International Criminal Court for the crime of genocide against Palestinians, and accused it of ignoring historical and legal facts while exploiting historical events for its own purposes. The statement added that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his collaborators cannot cover up their crimes, pointing to international arrest warrants issued for Netanyahu and other Israeli ministers.

The statement also linked Israel's decision to its expanding military and strategic cooperation with the Greek Cypriot administration, which it said targets Turkey and destabilizes the region. It condemned what it called a political smear campaign against Turkey, which it said has taken a principled stance based on international law against Netanyahu's expansionist policies.

The Turkish Cypriot people, who have suffered all kinds of inhumane treatment including genocide, reiterated their support for the Palestinian cause and called on Israel to immediately end the violence in the Middle East. The decision was passed unanimously by Israel's legislature, with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar stating that it is never too late to do the right thing.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that offering no response to Israel's decision was the best route forward, as refraining from weaponizing the Armenian genocide is in Armenia's interests. The Cypriot government, along with Armenia, France, Germany, Greece, and the United States, recognizes the events as genocide, while Turkey, Northern Cyprus, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan consider them casualties of World War I.