In a highly aggressive statement, in provocative language, Turkey is once again attempting to falsify history and deconstruct its documented crimes against the Greeks of Pontus, even challenging the provisions of the Lausanne Treaty.

On the occasion of the anniversary of the Pontian Genocide, Ankara has once again chosen to attack Greece with provocative and inaccurate statements. In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry described as “fictitious” the reports of crimes committed against the Greeks of Pontos and attempted to reverse the historical reality, rejecting all accusations and distorting the facts.

Among other things, Turkey claimed that the Greek side was trying to falsify history, even going so far as to invoke the Treaty of Lausanne, ignoring the fact that this document recognizes its atrocities against the Greeks of Asia Minor. In particular, Ankara attempted to present the Pontian claims as an attempt to dissolve the Ottoman Empire, overlooking the systematic extermination of Pontian Hellenism.

With its usual rhetoric, the Turkish leadership tried to reverse the blame, referring to “Greek atrocities” and attempting to downplay the mass massacres and deportations that took place at the expense of Pontian Hellenism.

In detail, the Turkish Foreign Ministry’s statement

We condemn the delusional statements, which are completely incompatible with historical facts, made by the Greek authorities on the occasion of the anniversary of the baseless “Pontian” claims. We completely reject these fantastic allegations, which are aimed at discrediting our Independence Struggle, which began under the leadership of the Great Leader Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on 19 May 1919.

It is a historical reality that the Greek army committed countless atrocities in Asia Minor, which it conquered with the support of the imperialist powers of the time. Greece’s current baseless political attempts to distort history are invalid and unfounded.

Greek atrocities in Asia Minor, mentioned in the reports of the Allied Commission of Inquiry, were also recorded in Article 59 of the Lausanne Peace Treaty, with Greece being required to pay reparations for acts that violated the laws of war.

Pontian activities, which emerged in the late 19th century as an extension of Greece’s ambitions for the “Great Idea” in our territories, were doomed to eternal failure through the determined struggle of our nation. We call upon the Greek authorities to abandon the policy of exploiting these historical events for populist purposes and to honour the violent crimes committed against the Turks and other ethnic groups, starting with the Tripolitsa massacre in 1821.

Initiatives that draw hostility from history and aim to damage relations between our countries, which in recent years have been progressing with positive momentum, must now come to an end.