Journal of Turkish Weekly
Feb 1 2015
Turkey ministry denounces Armenia president remarks
1 February 2015
Foreign ministry expresses ‘surprise’ at president’s ‘unbecoming’
style, calls Armenian authorities to pursue common sense.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan’s statement in regards to Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan’s invitation for the commemoration of the Battle of Canakkale.
In mid-Jan, the Turkish President sent invitation letters to more than
100 leaders, including the Armenian President Sargsyan, to participate
the commemoration of the Battle of Canakkale on April 24.
President Sargsyan reportedly denounced President Erdogan’s invitation
as a “short-sighted” attempt to overshadow the hundredth anniversary
of the events of 1915 to be held on the same date, according to
ArmeniaNow.com.
“We condemn this style, which is unbecoming of a neighboring country
leader or the representative of the ancient Armenian nation,” the
Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said that it is not surprising that radical Armenian
circles referred to this historical issue with outdated rhetoric.
“What is surprising is the similar attitude taken by those who are
responsible for managing the state,” the ministry said.
The ministry said that in the Battle of Canakkale all the people
composing the Ottoman Empire, including Armenians, experienced deep
anguish and that the Turkish president’s invitation to his counterpart
was also to commemorate the Armenians who died in that battle.
The statement recalled the historical “condolence message” that Turkey
sent to Armenia on April. 23, 2014, and said that Turkey knows and
shares the sorrow of Armenian people.
The foreign ministry invited Armenian authorities to pursue common
sense, and shove aside any attempts to turn 2015 into a year of hatred
against Turkey and Turks.
During the First World War, the Ottoman Empire approved a deportation
law for Armenians, amid their uprising with the help of the invading
Russian army. As a result, an unknown number of people died in civil
strife.
Armenian diaspora and state of Armenia term the incidents as
“genocide” and ask for compensation, whereas Ankara says while
Armenians died during deportation many Turks also died due to the
attacks by Armenian gangs all around Anatolia.
1 February 2015
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress