Baku, Azerbaijan, April 25
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Turkey is studying the possibility of giving passports to descendants of Armenians who left the country during the 1915 events, according to ruling Justice and Development Party's Deputy Chairman, Yasin Aktay.
Aktay said the Armenians, who had to leave Turkey, are the country's citizens, Turkish Haber7 TV channel quoted him as saying on April 25.
"If not for the World War I, the Armenians would have remained our citizens," he added.
Earlier it was reported that Turkey will give passports to the descendants of Armenians who left the country during the 1915 events, and Turkish Cabinet of Ministers and Foreign Minister are currently working on this issue.
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. While strengthening the efforts to promote the so-called genocide in the world, Armenians have achieved its recognition by the parliaments of some countries.
Despite Turkey's efforts to create a joint commission with Armenia to investigate the events of 1915, Armenia hasn't responded to this proposal so far.
Translated by E.A.
Edited by S.I.