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TURKISH FM: "TURKEY DOESN'T DENY THAT DEVASTATING THINGS IN EARLY 20TH CENTURY"
times.am
Nov 30 2010
Armenia
According to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu Turkey doesn't
deny that devastating things happened to Armenians in early 20th
century. Turkish FM has said about it in Washington.
"Just 10 years ago, no one in Turkey spoke of the Armenian
issue, whereas nowadays our society freely discusses the topic,"
Times.am-Armenian news reports quoting the Voice of America radio
station.
Davutoglu believes that neither Armenians nor Turks are to blame for
the existing conflicts between the two nations. He sees the emergence
of nationalist movements as the main cause of the Genocide.
Only a year before the events - in 1914 -Turkey had ministers of
Armenian descent, and Armenian diplomats represented the country
in a number of European capitals. In Ottoman sources, the Armenians
were referred to as the 'most faithful citizens'," Davutoglu said,
adding that all kinds of errors in that period occurred mostly due
the lack of law and order throughout Turkey.
Asked whether the Turkish parliament's failure to ratify the protocols
was conditioned by the upcoming parliamentary election in the
country, the Karabakh conflict or any other factor, Davutoglu said:
"Unfortunately, Armenia's Constitutional Court passed a decision
ruling out the possibility of creating a committee of historians,
while the issue was important for Turkey."
Davutoglu also said that the Armenian-Turkish protocols are aimed at
improving the relations between Armenia and Turkey, normalizing the
ties between the two peoples and establishing peace in the Caucasus
region.
He also reiterated Ankara's official stance that there will be no
progress over the protocols without a progress in the Karabakh peace
process.
"Even if the protocols are approved without an Armenian-Azerbaijani
agreement, Turkey will close the border again in case of an
escalation," he said.
From: A. Papazian
times.am
Nov 30 2010
Armenia
According to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu Turkey doesn't
deny that devastating things happened to Armenians in early 20th
century. Turkish FM has said about it in Washington.
"Just 10 years ago, no one in Turkey spoke of the Armenian
issue, whereas nowadays our society freely discusses the topic,"
Times.am-Armenian news reports quoting the Voice of America radio
station.
Davutoglu believes that neither Armenians nor Turks are to blame for
the existing conflicts between the two nations. He sees the emergence
of nationalist movements as the main cause of the Genocide.
Only a year before the events - in 1914 -Turkey had ministers of
Armenian descent, and Armenian diplomats represented the country
in a number of European capitals. In Ottoman sources, the Armenians
were referred to as the 'most faithful citizens'," Davutoglu said,
adding that all kinds of errors in that period occurred mostly due
the lack of law and order throughout Turkey.
Asked whether the Turkish parliament's failure to ratify the protocols
was conditioned by the upcoming parliamentary election in the
country, the Karabakh conflict or any other factor, Davutoglu said:
"Unfortunately, Armenia's Constitutional Court passed a decision
ruling out the possibility of creating a committee of historians,
while the issue was important for Turkey."
Davutoglu also said that the Armenian-Turkish protocols are aimed at
improving the relations between Armenia and Turkey, normalizing the
ties between the two peoples and establishing peace in the Caucasus
region.
He also reiterated Ankara's official stance that there will be no
progress over the protocols without a progress in the Karabakh peace
process.
"Even if the protocols are approved without an Armenian-Azerbaijani
agreement, Turkey will close the border again in case of an
escalation," he said.
From: A. Papazian