The German parliament is hesitant to say whether the massacre of Armenians 100 years ago was genocide. Is this because they do not want to anger Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan? The writer of an article in Deutsche Welle asked the aforesaid.

As per the writer, by postponing the approval of the Armenian Genocide resolution that was so hotly debated this April in the parliament, the German government is going out of its way to win over Turkey.

The governing Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU), and Social Democratic Party (SDP) have “quietly” agreed to delay the pending final reading of the bill for as long as possible, reported Der Spiegel daily.

Other sources claim that the resolution has been delayed due to efforts by the CDU, informed Deutsche Welle.

The opposition Green party insists that the parliament, or Bundestag, must recognize the massacre of Armenians one century ago as “genocide” before the end of this year.

Green party leader—and German Turk—Cem Özdemir criticized: “The coalition is stalling, but the clock is running out, for the commemorative year is quickly coming to an end.”

As per the article, nothing infuriates Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan more than when the term “genocide” is used in the context of the events that occurred in 1915.

According to the writer, one thing is clear at the moment though; the German government needs Turkey in tackling the refugee crisis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to get President Erdogan to cooperate more closely with the EU than he has until now. The chancellor will fly to Turkey this Sunday to that end.

“Announcements of Merkel’s trip led to mixed reactions in Berlin,” the writer concluded: “A general [parliamentary] election is being held in Turkey on November 1. This spring, Erdogan’s governing conservative Islamic party AKP lost its absolute majority, and is now hoping to recover it. Germany’s opposition Green and Left parties fear that Merkel’s trip could unwittingly turn into an electoral boost for the president.”