Turkey's ambassador to Sweden, recalled after that country's parliament recently passed a bill recognizing the mass killings of Armenians in Ottoman-era Turkey during World War I as "genocide," is set to return, Turkish media reported Thursday, according to dpa. Ambassador Zergun Koruturk would return to Sweden shortly, reports quoted Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu telling private broadcaster CNNTurk in an interview late Wednesday. "The Swedish government clearly opposed the adoption of a bill on the incidents of 1915 at the Swedish Parliament. The Swedish government clearly demonstrated its stand on the bill regarding the incidents of 1915," Davutoglu said. Ankara also recalled its ambassador to Washington after a House of Representatives committee recently passed another "genocide" bill. Turkish officials have said the ambassador will not return until it is clear that the resolution will not go any further. Armenians accuse the Ottoman Turks of being behind the systematic killings of up to 1.5 million during WWI. Turkey has rejected the genocide claim, saying the number of Armenians killed was much lower and that the deaths were the result of violent turbulence that also affected other groups at the time.
