...

Armenian lobby not ready for dialogue with Turkey – Turkish PM’s advisor

Türkiye Materials 28 January 2015 16:46 (UTC +04:00)
Unlike Armenia, the Armenian lobby is not ready for a dialogue with Turkey.
Armenian lobby not ready for dialogue with Turkey – Turkish PM’s advisor

Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan.28

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

Unlike Armenia, the Armenian lobby is not ready for a dialogue with Turkey, Etienne Mahcupyan, the advisor to Turkish prime minister said.

Regarding Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's invitation to Armenian president to take part in the events dedicated to the Canakkale victory on April 24, Mahcupyan said that it wouldn't be such a bad idea if Armenia at least symbolically accepted the invitation, Anadolu agency reported on Jan.28.

"There were also Armenians among those killed in the Canakkale Battle," he said. "If Armenia honors their memory, it was to have at least symbolically accepted Turkish president's invitation."

He said it is not ruled out that if Turkish-Armenian relations are restored, a number of descendants of Armenians who left Turkey in 1915 can return there and demand citizenship.

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.

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.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said earlier that the emphasis on the 1915 events hinders the normalization of relations between Ankara and Yerevan.

He said that Ankara hopes for the normalization of relations with Yerevan, however, Armenia should break down its stereotypes associated with the mentioned events.

Edited by SI

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu

Tags:
Latest

Latest