Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.11
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Ankara has cancelled the next meeting of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee as the committee's agenda included discussions on the "Armenian genocide", Hurriyet newspaper reported on Feb.11.
The meeting was to be held on Feb.18-19 in Turkey's Istanbul city.
Earlier, Turkey's authorities warned the EU that Ankara will refuse to hold the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee's meeting if its agenda includes discussions on the "Armenian genocide".
Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that Turkey's predecessor, the Ottoman Empire allegedly carried out "genocide" against the Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915. Turkey in turn has always denied "the genocide" took place.
While strengthening the efforts to promote the "genocide" in the world, Armenians have achieved its recognition by the parliaments of some countries.
Although Turkey has repeatedly proposed to create an independent commission to investigate the events of 1915, Armenia continues to reject this proposal.
Moreover, previously, Turkish authorities have repeatedly made gestures to Armenia. Recep Tayyip Erdogan's message to the Armenian people on April 24, 2014 is one of such recent gestures.
Erdogan said in that message that the events of 1915 were a difficult time not only for Armenians, but also for Arabs, Kurds and representatives of other nations living in the country.
Edited by SI
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu