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TURKEY SEES GENOCIDE ISSUE STALLING TRADE
The Toronto Star, Canada
April 8, 2013 Monday
Turkey's ambassador to Canada says the Harper government's decision
to brand the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide may
be hindering a potentially lucrative trading relationship.
Ambassador Tuncay Babali made clear in an interview with The Canadian
Press that Canada's position on the First World War-era slaughter of an
estimated 1.5 million Armenians still carries a sting for his country.
But that doesn't mean Turkey doesn't want to press on with forging
a deeper economic relationship with Canada, ideally a free trade
agreement to complement the current Canada-EU free trade talks once
they are completed, he said.
Babali said the $2.5 billion in two-way trade "is far from the
potential" of what Turkey predicts would result from deeper economic
ties: $10 billion to $15 billion within five years. He said Turkey
would like to open free trade talks with Canada but would like a
gesture from Canada on the genocide issue.
The Toronto Star, Canada
April 8, 2013 Monday
Turkey's ambassador to Canada says the Harper government's decision
to brand the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide may
be hindering a potentially lucrative trading relationship.
Ambassador Tuncay Babali made clear in an interview with The Canadian
Press that Canada's position on the First World War-era slaughter of an
estimated 1.5 million Armenians still carries a sting for his country.
But that doesn't mean Turkey doesn't want to press on with forging
a deeper economic relationship with Canada, ideally a free trade
agreement to complement the current Canada-EU free trade talks once
they are completed, he said.
Babali said the $2.5 billion in two-way trade "is far from the
potential" of what Turkey predicts would result from deeper economic
ties: $10 billion to $15 billion within five years. He said Turkey
would like to open free trade talks with Canada but would like a
gesture from Canada on the genocide issue.