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Turkish PM Says US Congress Vote On 'Armenian Genocide' Was Comedy

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  • Turkish PM Says US Congress Vote On 'Armenian Genocide' Was Comedy

    TURKISH PM SAYS US CONGRESS VOTE ON 'ARMENIAN GENOCIDE' WAS COMEDY

    Philippines News Agency (PNA)
    March 7, 2010 Sunday

    Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday's vote in the
    U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs on a resolution recognizing
    the fact of `Armenian genocide' during the Ottoman Empire was a comedy.

    `The scenario that was played out turned out to be a comedy. The
    country will not put up with the lie that is being forced upon it,'
    he said.

    Erdogan said Turkey could not accept `such parody' and described the
    initiators of the vote as shortsighted.

    The adoption of the resolution forced Ankara to recall its ambassador
    to Washington for consultations. He said upon arrival in Ankara that
    the vote had been wrong from the very beginning.

    The diplomat did not say when he planned to return to the United
    States, adding that this would depend on his consultations and the
    decisions to be made by the government.

    The issue of Armenian genocide has tarnished relations between Turkey
    and Armenia for decades and is one of the stumbling blocks to their
    improvement. Another problem is Nagorno-Karabakh.

    However, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said the normalization of
    relations with Turkey was not conditioned on the resolution of the
    Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and recognition of the Armenian genocide
    in the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

    Sargsyan said the text of the protocols on the normalization of
    relations between Armenia and Turkey did not mention Karabakh or the
    word `genocide'.

    He said Yerevan would seek to resolve the Karabakh issue in accordance
    with the aspirations of the Armenian population of the disputed
    enclave.

    The president also said that Armenia would not give up attempts to
    secure international recognition of genocide.

    At the same time, he believes that these issues should not be an
    obstacle to the normalization of relations between Yerevan and Ankara.

    He expressed hope that a peaceful resolution of the Karabakh issue
    would be achieved, but did not name any deadlines.

    According to Sargsyan, this may happen in a distant future.

    The first step towards normalization of bilateral relations, fully
    severed in 1993 over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, was taken in the
    autumn of 2008. Turkish President Abdullah Gul visited Yerevan at the
    invitation Sargsyan to watch a World Cup qualification game between
    the national football teams of the two countries. He invited Sargsyan
    to Ankara to a football game in October. Observers dubbed the visits
    `football diplomacy', and although some politicians say such informal
    meeting between the leaders of the two countries should not be taken
    seriously, experts believe that these contacts can play an important
    role in the normalization of relations between the two countries.

    Sargyasn said that Armenia was ready to establish normal relations
    with Turkey without preconditions. `The ball is in the Turkish court,'
    he said.

    He is `deeply and sincerely convinced' that Armenia `must establish
    good relations with Turkey', and this conviction did not develop
    after his election as president.

    Sargsyan believes that `such experienced diplomacy as the Turkish
    one will assess the degree of sincerity' of Armenian authorities in
    the establishment of relations with Ankara without preconditions.

    The president said talks with Turkey had `never discussed the problem
    of Nagorno-Karabakh and the recognition of Armenian genocide' in the
    Ottoman Empire in 1915. `We do not condition normalization of relations
    between the two countries on Turkey's recognition of Armenian genocide
    and hope that the Turks do not consider the termination of recognition
    of genocide [by different countries] as such precondition', he said.

    At the same time, normalization of relations with Turkey does not mean
    questioning the fact of genocide in 1915, the president said. `We
    regret millions of innocent victims and should do everything we can
    to prevent such tragedies in the future,' Sargsyan said.

    `We may have made a mistake in our relations with Turkey', and they
    will take a totally different turn, Sargsayan said. But `even if
    it is a failure', Armenia will `come out of this process stronger
    because the international community will see' that Yerevan `is ready
    to establish relations with Turkey without preconditions'.

    Erdogan said earlier that his country would not open its border with
    Armenia until its troops leave occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

    `The Karabakh conflict and the occupation of Azerbaijani territories
    are the cause, and the closure of the border with Turkey is the
    effect. Unless the cause is eliminated, the effects will remain,'
    Erdogan said.

    Erdogan said the Turkish-Armenian border would not be opened unless
    the Nagorno-Karabakh problem was resolved.

    `Turkey will not sign the final agreement with Armenia unless
    Azerbaijan and Armenia reach consensus on Nagorno-Karabakh,' he said.

    `We will prepare the infrastructure and do preliminary work, but this
    [the opening of the border] will depend entirely on the settlement
    of the Armenian-Azerbaijani problem. It has to be settled first,'
    the prime minister said.

    Erdogan said his country had not and would not take steps that would
    be detrimental to the national interests of Azerbaijan.

    Ankara believes that the issue may be resolved only within the
    framework of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, he said.

    `Unless the Karabakh conflict is resolved, no peace in the region
    will be possible,' the prime minister said.

    `Independence, calm and stability of Azerbaijan are as important to
    us as independence and stability of Turkey,' Erdogan said.
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