Azernews.Az

BAKU– The prosecutor’s office of Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea has termed as illegitimate a decision of the region’s legislature to recognize the alleged World War I-era genocide of Armenians in Turkey, the leader of Crimea’s Azerbaijani community has said.

Rahim Humbatov said the decision was made after a scrutiny ordered by Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office.

A letter sent to Humbatov by the prosecutor’s office says Crimea’s Supreme Rada had exceeded its credentials by passing such a decision.

"Under the Constitution, if legal acts adopted by Crimea’s government agencies run counter to the Ukrainian legislation, they no longer have legal effect and clauses of the Ukrainian legislation are taken as a basis."

The prosecutor’s office added that a letter had been sent to the chairman of the Crimean legislature calling upon him to bring its decisions into compliance with the country’s laws.

Crimea’s Supreme Rada is now expected to cancel its decision on the "genocide" of Armenians.

Armenians residing in Turkey’s Anatolia region staged riots during World War I and fought against the Ottoman army in support of Russia. In an effort to end stand-off, the Ottoman government decided in 1915 to resettle the Armenians to other parts of the country. Armenians say 1.5 million of their ancestors were killed in the process, a claim strenuously dismissed by Turkey, and have been trying to muster international support for the recognition of the alleged genocide worldwide.