President of Lebanon Michel Aoun has sparked Ankara’s anger by criticizing the Ottoman Empire.

“From 1516 through 1918, that is, four centuries and two years, Lebanon lived under Ottoman occupation. The people of Lebanon suffered a lot. The Ottomans’ state terror against the Lebanese, especially during the years of WWI, caused hundreds of thousands of victims,” Aoun declared during an event dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the declaration of Greater Lebanon.

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs rushed to refer to Aoun’s words as “baseless and biased” and obviously refuted the state terror. “There is no such thing as state terror in the history of the Ottoman Empire. Contrary to allegations, the Ottoman era in the Middle East was marked by a long period of stability,” the statement of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs read.