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TURKEY RAPS 'INHUMANE' DEPORTATION OF ARMENIANS
Press TV, Iran
Dec 13 2013
Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has reportedly denounced
the deportation of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as
'inhumane.'
Turkish media reported on Friday that Davutoglu made the remarks
to Turkish journalists who had been travelling with him to Armenia
Thursday.
He criticized the extensive deportation of Armenians to Syria during
World War I as a "totally wrong practice done by (the Ottoman-era
rulers). It was inhumane," according to Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News.
Davutoglu was slated to attend a meeting of the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation (BSEC) forum in the Armenian capital Yerevan on December
12, which marked his first visit to the country since efforts to open
diplomatic relations between the neighbors failed four years ago.
Yerevan claims up to 1.5 million Armenians were systematically
killed between 1915 and 1917 under the Ottoman Empire, which was the
predecessor of modern Turkey.
However, Ankara firmly rejects the term genocide, saying 500,000 lost
their lives in fighting and of hunger during World War I.
Davutoglu expressed hope after meeting his Armenian counterpart
Edward Nalbandian that the two nations could form a relationship on
the basis of a "just memory."
"The primary aim is to build an environment of dialogue on a strong
basis."
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of support
for its regional ally, Azerbaijan, which had a dispute with Armenia
over Nagorny-Karabakh.
The region is internationally recognized as an Azeri territory but
was captured by Armenia-backed separatists in the 1990s.
The two nations inked reconciliation agreements in 2009 but the
rapprochement fell apart after a short while as each side accused
the other of setting new conditions and rewriting parts of the accords.
MR/HSN
From: A. Papazian
Press TV, Iran
Dec 13 2013
Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has reportedly denounced
the deportation of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as
'inhumane.'
Turkish media reported on Friday that Davutoglu made the remarks
to Turkish journalists who had been travelling with him to Armenia
Thursday.
He criticized the extensive deportation of Armenians to Syria during
World War I as a "totally wrong practice done by (the Ottoman-era
rulers). It was inhumane," according to Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News.
Davutoglu was slated to attend a meeting of the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation (BSEC) forum in the Armenian capital Yerevan on December
12, which marked his first visit to the country since efforts to open
diplomatic relations between the neighbors failed four years ago.
Yerevan claims up to 1.5 million Armenians were systematically
killed between 1915 and 1917 under the Ottoman Empire, which was the
predecessor of modern Turkey.
However, Ankara firmly rejects the term genocide, saying 500,000 lost
their lives in fighting and of hunger during World War I.
Davutoglu expressed hope after meeting his Armenian counterpart
Edward Nalbandian that the two nations could form a relationship on
the basis of a "just memory."
"The primary aim is to build an environment of dialogue on a strong
basis."
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of support
for its regional ally, Azerbaijan, which had a dispute with Armenia
over Nagorny-Karabakh.
The region is internationally recognized as an Azeri territory but
was captured by Armenia-backed separatists in the 1990s.
The two nations inked reconciliation agreements in 2009 but the
rapprochement fell apart after a short while as each side accused
the other of setting new conditions and rewriting parts of the accords.
MR/HSN
From: A. Papazian