Those who stir trouble with the so-called Armenian genocide allegations, particularly France, have "no concern about the truth," Turkey's president said Wednesday.
"When we dig deeper into genocides, massacres, and human rights violations, we see the same countries that make noise about democracy and freedom," Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told a symposium on archives and historical research in the capital Ankara.
"Those who lecture Turkey on human rights, democracy, the Armenian issue, and the fight against terrorism all have a bloody history," Erdoğan added.
"Turkey's archives are fully accessible", Erdoğan said, calling on Armenians and third parties to research the 1915 events.
Erdoğan also said that no group or state has been able to prove claims about the Armenian issue through archival evidence.
Erdoğan's remarks come in the wake of France declaring a day of commemoration of the so-called genocide claims.
Turkey's position on the events of 1915 is that the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.
Turkey objects to the presentation of the incidents as "genocide" but describes the 1915 events as a tragedy in which both sides suffered casualties.
Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia plus international experts to tackle the issue.
