BEIRUT, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon condemned on Monday Turkey's criticism of Lebanese President Michel Aoun's speech on Ottoman, local news agency Lebanon Debate reported.
"The president's speech included some historical facts about what Lebanon has faced under the Ottoman rule. Both the Lebanese and Turkish population have overcame this history and they are both looking forward to the best political and economic relations in the future," Lebanon's Foreign Ministry's statement said.
On Aug. 31, Aoun said that the Ottoman practiced "terror" against the Lebanese, especially during World War I, leading hundreds of thousands of victims to famine, conscription and forced labor.
Turkey's Foreign Ministry hit back on Sunday with a written statement calling Aoun's words "baseless and biased" and denying that "terror" had taken place under Ottoman rule.
Lebanon's Foreign Ministry stressed that the language used in the Turkish Foreign Ministry's statement is rejected and condemned.
"The Turkish Foreign Ministry must correct this mistake because the Turkish-Lebanese relations are deeper and greater than such an exaggerated reaction. The Lebanese Foreign Ministry will follow up on the required measures that need to be taken to prevent damage to relations between the two countries," it said.
