A diplomatic row is brewing between Sweden and Turkey after Sweden's parliament yesterday voted to describe the 1915 killing of Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks and Syrians by Turkey as genocide.

This morning, Sweden's ambassador to Turkey was called to the Turkish foreign ministry to explain the decision. Yesterday, Turkey recalled its ambassador to Sweden and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey's prime minister, cancelled a planned visit to the Scandinavian country.

According to historians, up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Ottomans around the time of First World War, but Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, claiming that the death toll has been inflated and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

The vote in Sweden has divided the country's political parties ahead of a general election later this year and is seen as a victory for Sweden's centre-left opposition. The vote was passed by 131 votes to 130 after four centre-right MPs voted with the centre-left.

Gulan Avci, a member of the centre-right Moderate Party who is of Turkish decent and voted against her own party, said it was "time for people who have suffered so long to obtain redress".

Hans Linde, a member of the Left Party, said it was not the role of politicians to write history, but that they should "call things by their right names".

Abdullah G