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RUSSIA INVESTIGATES SHOOTING OF TURKISH SHEPHERD ON ARMENIAN BORDER
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Aug 2 2013
2 August 2013 /TODAY'S ZAMAN, ANKARA
A state security institution from Russia announced that they are
investigating the shooting of Mustafa Ulker, a Turkish shepherd who
was shot dead on the Armenian border near Turkey's Kars province.
In remarks to the Armenian media, head of the Press Service of the
Armenia Border Department of the Russian Federation Federal Security
Service Sergei Grechin, said that they are examining how the event
happened. "We are inspecting the event. The situation is being
clarified," Grechin said.
According to reports, the 35-year-old Turkish shepherd had crossed to
the Armenian side of the border to retrieve a lost sheep and was shot
dead by guards patrolling the Armenian border. Reports further stated
that the soldiers opened fire on the shepherd without giving a warning.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry
harshly condemned Armenia for using excessive force, killing an unarmed
civilian and ignoring the fact that such a crossing poses no threat
to the national security of the country.
The statement concluded that the incident yet again highlighted the
need for common sense in Armenian relations with its neighbors for
normalization and sustainable peace in such a volatile region.
However, the fact that Russian troops protect the Armenian borders
with Turkey and Iran in compliance with an agreement concluded between
Moscow and Yerevan in 1992 indicates a possibility that the soldiers
who shot at Ulker might be Russian. Some 4,500 Russian soldiers are
serving in Armenia.
Ulker's body was brought to Turkey late on Thursday. Grechin indicated
that the return of the body to Turkey was not in any way related
to Russia.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with
Azerbaijan after the Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of
Azerbaijan in 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region. In 2009,
the Zurich Protocols were signed between Armenia and Turkey to
normalize relations; however, the move did not bear fruit as the
border remains closed.
The mass killings of Armenians at the hands of the Ottomans in 1915,
referred to as a genocide by Armenians, is an issue that strains ties
between the two countries. Turkey categorically denies the charges of
genocide, saying that there were deaths on both sides and Armenians
revolted against the Ottoman Empire in collaboration with the Russian
army and invaded Eastern Anatolia to gain independence.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-322632-russia-investigates-shooting-of-turkish-shepherd-on-armenian-border.html
From: Baghdasarian
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Aug 2 2013
2 August 2013 /TODAY'S ZAMAN, ANKARA
A state security institution from Russia announced that they are
investigating the shooting of Mustafa Ulker, a Turkish shepherd who
was shot dead on the Armenian border near Turkey's Kars province.
In remarks to the Armenian media, head of the Press Service of the
Armenia Border Department of the Russian Federation Federal Security
Service Sergei Grechin, said that they are examining how the event
happened. "We are inspecting the event. The situation is being
clarified," Grechin said.
According to reports, the 35-year-old Turkish shepherd had crossed to
the Armenian side of the border to retrieve a lost sheep and was shot
dead by guards patrolling the Armenian border. Reports further stated
that the soldiers opened fire on the shepherd without giving a warning.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry
harshly condemned Armenia for using excessive force, killing an unarmed
civilian and ignoring the fact that such a crossing poses no threat
to the national security of the country.
The statement concluded that the incident yet again highlighted the
need for common sense in Armenian relations with its neighbors for
normalization and sustainable peace in such a volatile region.
However, the fact that Russian troops protect the Armenian borders
with Turkey and Iran in compliance with an agreement concluded between
Moscow and Yerevan in 1992 indicates a possibility that the soldiers
who shot at Ulker might be Russian. Some 4,500 Russian soldiers are
serving in Armenia.
Ulker's body was brought to Turkey late on Thursday. Grechin indicated
that the return of the body to Turkey was not in any way related
to Russia.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with
Azerbaijan after the Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of
Azerbaijan in 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region. In 2009,
the Zurich Protocols were signed between Armenia and Turkey to
normalize relations; however, the move did not bear fruit as the
border remains closed.
The mass killings of Armenians at the hands of the Ottomans in 1915,
referred to as a genocide by Armenians, is an issue that strains ties
between the two countries. Turkey categorically denies the charges of
genocide, saying that there were deaths on both sides and Armenians
revolted against the Ottoman Empire in collaboration with the Russian
army and invaded Eastern Anatolia to gain independence.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-322632-russia-investigates-shooting-of-turkish-shepherd-on-armenian-border.html
From: Baghdasarian