http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/02/germany-braces-for-turkish-backlash-as-it-votes-to-recognise-armenian-genocide

>Turkey has recalled its ambassador from Berlin after German MPs approved a motion describing the massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces a century ago as genocide – a decision that the Turkish president said would “seriously affect” relations between the two countries.

>The five-page paper, co-written by parliamentarians from the Christian Democrats, Social Democrats and Green party, calls for a “commemoration of the genocide of Armenian and other Christian minorities in the years 1915 and 1916”. It passed with support from all the parties in parliament. In a show of hands, there was one abstention and one vote against.

>The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, had voted in favour of the resolution during a test vote at a party meeting on Tuesday, but was absent from the actual vote on Thursday, as were the deputy chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, and the minister for foreign affairs, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Gregor Gysi of the Left party described Merkel’s absence as “not very brave”.

>Turkish governments have always rejected the use of the term genocide to describe the massacre and expulsion of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians and members of Christian minorities in the Ottoman empire.

>The Turkish government, bitterly opposed to labelling the 1915 mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman forces as genocide, has said the German parliament’s approval of the Armenian genocide bill was “null and void”.

>Speaking on a visit to Kenya, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said the German vote would “seriously affect” ties between the two countries, and confirmed that Ankara has recalled its ambassador to Germany for consultations. Ankara also summoned Germany’s charge d’affaires to the foreign ministry.