Turkish minister says Russian media run by Armenians, German media not free

ISTANBUL

Russia’s media is run by a group of Armenians, while the German media is not free, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has claimed.

Speaking during an interview with Turkish broadcaster TRT Haber, Çavuşoğlu said the Russian media was run by Armenians, who held key positions in the press, and were trying to poison the Russian nation against Turks.

“They especially try to poison the Russian nation against the Turkish nation but as can be seen, they haven’t been very successful,” Çavuşoğlu said June 7. 

Turkey and Russia have been at odds since the former downed a warplane of the latter on Nov. 24, 2015, on the grounds of an airspace violation on its border with Syria. 

Çavuşoğlu said the Russian media was putting forth a picture as though Turkey had downed the Russian jet inside Russian territory and was thus conducting black propaganda.

The foreign minister also commented on the media in Germany, declaring it be unfree.

Giving an example of German newspapers from various political lines choosing headlines that were critical of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Çavuşoğlu said this was proof that the German media were not free. 

“No media is free in Germany. If so, how could [various newspapers from different political lines] make anti-Erdoğan headlines?” he asked. 

Çavuşoğlu said everything was systematic in Germany and that a recent bill recognizing the World War I-era killings of Anatolian Armenians at the hands of Ottomans as “genocide” was also a part of this systematic approach. 

Turkey recalled its ambassador to Germany for consultations after the bill was passed on June 2.