Çavuşoğlu’s Grey Wolf salute to Armenians leads to diplomatic row between Turkey, Uruguay

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After Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu saluted the Armenian protesters by flashing the ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves sign during an official visit to Montevideo on April 23, one day before the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Uruguay delayed the appointment of an ambassador to Turkey.

Upon the request of the opposition, the Senate unanimously agreed on Tuesday (May 3) to postpone the appointment of ambassador Hugo Cayrus to Turkey.

Senator Liliam Kechichián, one of the leaders of the "Frente Amplio" (The Broad Front) bloc, announced that they decided to re-send the file of Cayrus back to the International Relations Committee. In the Senate session, Kechichián emphasized that the decision had nothing to do with Cayrus ' person.

The first country to recognize the genocide

Uruguay is the first country to recognize the 1915 events as genocide on April 20, 1965, and a sizeable Armenian community, comprised of 1915 survivors and their descendants is living in the country today making Uruguay to have one of the largest Armenian populations in the world.

What happened?

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visited Uruguay for the opening of a new Turkish embassy in Montevideo on April 23. After the opening, a group of Uruguayan-Armenians protested Çavuşoğlu with Armenian flags to mark the 107th anniversary of the bloody events of 1915.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu, smiling from his car, showed the "Grey Wolves" sign to Armenian protesters. The Grey Wolves sign, symbolizing Turkish nationalism, is mainly used by the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in Turkey. Çavuşoğlu's action created a reaction among various politicians in Uruguay including President Luis Lacalle Pou and Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo.(AEK/TB/VK)