The victims of mass killings committed by Armenian gangs more than a century ago against the background of the occupation of part of Anatolia in 1916 were up to 700 thousand people, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking on Saturday at the opening of a number of objects in the province of Erzurum in the east of the country. This was reported by the Agency “Anadola”.
“We gratefully honor the memory of the brothers from Azerbaijan, who helped the inhabitants of Erzurum at that time. When the Caucasian army, under the command of Kazima Kazym, Pasha, two years later cleansed Erzurum from enemies, the eyes of the Turkish military introduced the terrifying picture of streets full of corpses. Only in the latter. The night of the occupation was killed 13 thousand inhabitants of Erzurum. Contrary to this genocide, Erzurum raised and achieved today’s results, ”he said.
The politician drew further attention to the situation in the South Caucasus. “Turkey, together with Azerbaijan, forms a new stage in the development of the region. With the steps of Armenia in the direction of peace and stability, this process will accelerate,” said Erdogan.