Yerevan /Mediamax/.  Turkey has its own way of perceiving and interpreting the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECHR ) judgment on " Dogu Perincek v. Switzerland " case  regarding the denial of the Armenian Genocide.

Turkey and Armenia were involved as third parties in this case.

Although ECHR clearly highlighted that “this decision is not meant to determine whether or not the mass massacres and deportations of Ottoman Empire against Armenia can be qualified as genocide, as unlike The International Criminal Court, ECHR is not authorized to make legally binding statements on this issue”, the Turkish Foreign Ministry tried to use this judgment as a trump card against the attempts of Armenian Genocide recognition and condemnation.

“Turkey, having intervened as a third party in the case, welcomed the Court’s judgment that is in line with its opinion. “We deem the judgment as a very strong signal against all efforts imposing the ‘genocide’ allegation as the only and absolute truth along with attempts and practices which even forbid questioning it,” the Foreign Ministry official statement reads.

According to the interpretation of Turkish Foreign Ministry, the judgment has registered the fact that parliaments and leaders are not competent to comment on historical issues by going beyond their powers. “According to the judgment, the events of 1915 are a matter of legitimate debate and different opinions relating to what happened during that period are under the protection of freedom of expression. Likewise, it is in no way possible to compare what happened in 1915 with the Holocaust,” Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.

Mediamax recalls that Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office stated that ECHR met all Armenia’s claims on the case of "Perincek v. Switzerland”. As a third party in the case, Armenia expected the European Court to rule out the statements from the judgment that could in any way call into question the fact of the Armenian Genocide.