Azernews.Az

MOSCOW – A senior Russian lawmaker known for his controversial statements has reportedly said the world community is likely to soon recognize the alleged World War I-era genocide of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma [lower house of parliament] and leader of Russian Liberal Democratic Party, was quoted by Armenia Today news agency as saying that it was wrong to term the developments as "plain killings".

"The Armenians were killed in Turkey in a premeditated manner in 1915," the nationalist politician claimed at an event devoted to the so-called genocide in Moscow. "This policy, pursued by the Ottoman Empire, was further continued in the Republic of Turkey."

According to historians, from 1915 to 1923, Armenians had begun an uprising. They took up arms against Turkey and assisted Russia, one of Turkey’s enemies in WWI. To counter these actions, the Ottoman Empire decided to resettle the Armenians. However, the latter claim that their predecessors were subjected to genocide in the process. Turkey dismisses the claims and has repeatedly offered to research the events through a joint commission of historians.

Zhirinovsky also blamed Turkey for trying "to intervene in the Caucasus". He said some Turkish forces are operating in the Caucasus, Russia’s southern Krasnodar province and even Moscow.