Official denies 40,000 Armenian nationals living in Turkey

Mediamax news agency
5 Mar 05

YEREVAN

The chief of the Migration and Refugees Department under the Armenian
government, Gagik Yeganyan, today described as “absolutely
inconsistent with reality” the recent statement of Turkish Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul that 40,000 Armenian citizens are permanently
living in Turkey.

“Gul’s statement, to put it mildly, amazed us,” Yeganyan said. He said
that the statement of the Turkish foreign minister pursues purely
political aims.

Yeganyan expressed the opinion that against the backdrop of the talks
on Turkey’s entry into the European Union, Abdullah Gul attempted to
demonstrate that Armenians are getting on very well with Turks.