By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Neither Greek statement named Türkiye or the Turkish state as the perpetrator. Ankara responded within hours.
Türkiye rejected statements issued in Greece on Monday commemorating what Athens calls the genocide of the Greeks of Asia Minor. Ankara answered by pointing to the conduct of Greek forces during the 1919-1922 campaign in Anatolia and to Article 59 of the Treaty of Lausanne.
The exchange began with a Greek Foreign Ministry statement marking Sept. 14 as the National Remembrance Day for the "Genocide of the Greeks of Asia Minor," a designation recognized by the Hellenic Parliament. The ministry said Greeks of Anatolia had been violently uprooted from their ancestral homes after centuries of presence, culminating in what it called the destruction of Smyrna, present-day İzmir, in September 1922.
"History can neither be erased nor falsified," the ministry said.
Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias separately marked the anniversary on X, saying Greece was honoring the memory of the victims of what he called the genocide of the Greeks of Asia Minor. He also praised the refugees of that period for their contribution to Greece's economic, social and intellectual development.
Neither text named Türkiye or the Turkish state directly. Greece's broader official position, however, classifies the events affecting Greek communities in Anatolia and Pontus as genocide. The Hellenic Parliament recognized the Anatolian case under Law No. 2645/1998 and established Sept. 14 as the corresponding remembrance day. The Pontic case is covered by separate legislation and marked on a different date.
Türkiye's Foreign Ministry responded later Monday, rejecting what it called "unfounded statements" by Greek authorities about the period when Greece "attempted to occupy and invade Anatolia."
The ministry called on Greek officials to act with responsibility and common sense and said Greece had carried out massacres and destruction against civilians in Anatolia during the same period. Ankara then cited Article 59 of the Treaty of Lausanne, saying Greece had acknowledged those acts and agreed to pay compensation.
What Article 59 Actually Says
The treaty text is narrower than Ankara's formulation. Article 59 records that Greece recognized an obligation to make reparation for damage in Anatolia caused by acts of the Greek army or administration that were contrary to the laws of war. The same article then records Türkiye's decision, in view of Greece's financial position after the war, to renounce all claims for reparations against the Greek government.
No compensation was ever paid. Türkiye gave up the claim in the same article that established it, and the text does not use the words genocide, massacre or crime.
Where the Designation Stands
No international court has ruled on the events, and no United Nations body has issued a finding on them. Recognition rests on national parliamentary decisions, including Greece's own, and on a 2007 resolution by the International Association of Genocide Scholars. The framing remains contested among historians of the late Ottoman period, and Türkiye rejects it outright.
Monday's exchange left both records where they stood. The Greek Foreign Ministry did not mention Article 59, and Türkiye's response did not engage with the genocide designation beyond calling it unfounded.
Sources: Greece's Foreign Ministry, Türkiye's Foreign Ministry, Treaty of Lausanne, Hellenic Parliament, ERT News, Bosphorus News review and reporting