EU urges Turkey to face Armenian Genocide

Turkey must recognise the Armenian genocide as a precondition for EU entry, senior MEPs have insisted. In a vote on Monday evening, the European parliament's foreign affairs committee expressed regret that Turkey was not facing up to its past. “The committee wants recognition of the Armenian genocide to be a clear pre-condition for EU entry and this will now be put to the plenary vote,” parliamentary rapporteur Camiel Eurling said on Tuesday. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians were killed in Turkey between 1915 and 1917 - but the Ankara government rejects the genocide claim. The report sparked a huge discussion in the prominent parliamentary committee - with over 300 amendments filed.