The Greek foreign ministry on Wednesday evening issued a stern reply to an earlier announcement by Turkey’s foreign ministry, which essentially disputed the Pontian Greek Genocide between 1916 and 1923 and insolently claimed that official Greece was distorting history.
May 19 is annually commemorated as a day of remembrance of the Pontian Genocide, when more than 350,000 people were killed by Ottoman forces and Turkish nationalists during and after WWI.
The statement, by Athens, in part, reads:
“It is with particular disappointment that we note the attempt to distort historical truth, being repeated once again through a press release by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Lies, falsification of history and the use of inflammatory rhetoric are not in line with the promotion of good neighbourly relations by a country that aspires to become a member of the European family.
“The sober acknowledgement of the facts by every country, in this case by Turkey, is a necessary step and a guarantee of the commitment that terrible events, such as the genocide of the Pontic Greeks, shall not be repeated.”
