Uruguay President Luis Lacalle Pou has described Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's ultra-nationalist gesture towards a group of Armenians as "regrettable", Deutsche Welle reports.
Cavusoglu made a particular gesture with his hands that is associated with the Turkish ultra-nationalist Gray Wolves movement, as his car drove past a group of Armenian protesters who were waiting for him at the exit of the newly-inaugurated Turkish embassy in Montevideo.
Lacalle Pou noted on Sunday, April 24 that the attitude of the Turkish Foreign Minister should be "strongly criticized". He said "the community is hurt, and rightly so."
Uruguayan Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo joined Lacalle Pou's condemnation on Sunday afternoon and called the gesture of his Turkish counterpart "inadmissible" during the 107th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Bustillo, who on Saturday summoned the Turkish ambassador for an explanation, affirmed that the Uruguayan government rejects "any invocation or offensive gesture that generates violence."
