Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
April 24 2014
US welcomes Turkish PM’s ‘historic’ condolences to Armenians
WASHINGTON – Anadolu Agency
Washington has welcomed a statement released by the Turkish prime
minister on April 23 in which he offered condolences to the
descendants of Armenians killed during World War I.
“We welcome Prime Minister Erdoğan’s historic public acknowledgement
of the suffering that Armenians experienced in 1915,” said Jen Psaki,
the U.S. State Department spokeswoman.
“We believe this is a positive indication that there can be a full,
frank and just acknowledgement of the facts, which we hope will
advance the cause of reconciliation between Turks and Armenians,” she
said.
European Union Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle also hailed the
statement issued by the Turkish Prime Minister’s Office.
“Welcome statement of PM Erdoğan on Armenians, reconciliation is key
EU value. Hope steps in this spirit will follow,” Füle said via
Twitter.
Earlier April 23, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, issued a
statement in nine languages, including Armenian, in which he offered
condolences to Armenians highlighting the “shared pain.”
“We wish that the Armenians who lost their lives in the context of the
early 20th century rest in peace, and we convey our condolences to
their grandchildren,” said the landmark statement, which can be a
milestone for Turkey’s confrontation with its past.
“The incidents of World War I are our shared pain. To evaluate this
painful period of history through a perspective of just memory is a
humane and scholarly responsibility,” the statement also said.