Armenian genocide a fact, just like Turkish invasion of Cyprus

The Armenian genocide by Turkey constitutes an unquestionable historical fact, just like the fact that Turkey invaded in 1974 the Republic of Cyprus and still occupies the northern part of its territory, Government Spokesman Vassilis Palmas said on Thursday.

Palmas was invited to comment on the resolution passed by the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs that describes the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Armenians early in the last century as genocide.

“The Armenian genocide by Turkey constitutes an unquestionable historical fact, just as unquestionable is the fact that Turkey invaded in 1974 the Republic of Cyprus and still occupies the northern part of our country,” Palmas said.

Invited to say whether this development would affect the Cyprus issue, Palmas said that one should react with caution and realism.

“We should remain cautious and realistic and not consider that the decisions of a Committee of a Body, like the US House of Representatives, would shake or change US-Turkey relations to such an extent that the international political scene would totally change,” he said.

The issue, he noted, “concerns mainly Turkey and the US, and the Cypriot government has no other comment to make.”

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.