Updated | Turkey recalls ambassador to Germany over Armenian genocide vote

Turkey has allegedly recalled its ambassador to Germany following the decision by the German Bundestag (lower house) Thursday afternoon to recognise the Armenian 'genocide' of 1915 and 1916.

The MPs approved a resolution declaring that the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War One was a "genocide", despite strong statements from Turkey's leaders in the run-up to the vote.

In reaction to the vote, Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu described the German vote as 'irresponsible and groundless' while Deputy PM Kurtulmus said the German resolution was a 'historic mistake'.

Previoously, the Turkish prime minister called the proposed vote “ridiculous” and said it was putting strain on the European Union’s refugee deal with Turkey. The deal was heavily championed by German chancellor Angela Merkel who was not in the Bundestag for the vote. Her Christian Democrats (CDU), their coalition partners the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens all supported the resolution, and the vote in favour was overwhelming.

Successive 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 UN defines genocide as any act “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such”.

Turkey’s prime minister called Thursday’s ballot “ridiculous” and argued that the killings were an “ordinary” wartime event.

Speaking in Ankara before a visit to northern Cyprus on Wednesday, Binali Yildirim repeated the warning from the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that bilateral ties would be damaged by Germany’s decision to call the massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces a genocide.

“This was one of many ordinary events that can happen in any country, in any society under the conditions of world war one. We know that those who want Turkey to pay the bill for it do not have good intentions,” he said.

Armenians being deported in 1915

An Armenian refugee lies dead in the fields within sight of Aleppo, Syria, in 1915

German chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish president Recep Erdogan following a meeting in April 2016

He added that the events of 1915 should be judged by historians, not politicians and insisted that the vote would upset the large Turkish community in Germany.

“The 3.5 million Turks living in Germany are the biggest asset to our bilateral ties. I hope that the German parliament and decision makers will not close their ears to the voices of 3.5 million voters,” he said.

An agreement between Turkey and the EU to return migrants arriving on the Greek islands to Turkey has in recent months reduced the number of refugees arriving in central Europe, easing pressure on the German chancellor. But Erdogan has since repeatedly questioned the conditions of the deal, with members of his party threatening to cancel the agreement altogether.

Twenty governments, including those of France, Italy and Russia, have in the past described the mass killings of Armenians as a genocide, and Pope Francis referred to the killings as “the first genocide of the 20th century” in 2015. The German president, Joachim Gauck, also used the phrase in a speech in April last year.

Today’s vote was originally scheduled for last year, but was put on ice due to pressure from Germany’s governing coalition, reportedly for fear of destabilising Turkish-German relations.