SYDNEY. – Turkey has warned Australia against any further formal recognition of the Armenian Genocide to avoid undermining its relationship and the special centenary commemoration of Gallipoli in 2015, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

And Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) Premier Barry O’Farrell has retaliated, saying it was “deplorable” for the 100-year anniversary of the Gallipoli landing to be used for political purposes.

Turkey has also made it clear that NSW MPs are not welcome to attend the ceremony because of bipartisan support for a motion moved in Parliament by O’Farrell in May which recognizes and condemns the Armenian Genocide.

The warning from the Turkish speaker of the parliament, Cemil Cicek, has come on the eve of a public ballot for 8,000 tickets reserved for Australians to attend the special ceremony in Gallipoli, Turkey, on April 25, 2015.

Cicek called on the NSW Parliament to withdraw its resolution, saying reports of an Armenian genocide were “still inconclusive.”

“We have no problem with Armenian communities in Turkey. We have a problem with the Armenian diaspora who are still propagating this argument,” Cemil Cicek said.