Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
April 14 2005

An ugly “no” from Yerevan

Hurriyet
14 April 2005

By Nerdun HACIOGLU (Hurriyet) – For the first time in history, the
Armenia question was discussed in the Turkish Parliament (TBMM). In
the discussion, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul revealed that Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan had written a letter to Armenian President
Robert Kocharian, inviting him to join Turkey in creating an official
shared commission to look into the Armenian claim of genocide.

The invitation was turned down by Kocharian however, who sent a reply
the same day from Yerevan.

Said Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian at a recent press
conference related to the upcoming genocide anniversary: “On the eve
of the 90th anniversary of the genocide, rather than assuming a more
restrained attitude, Turkey has launched an agressive attack. In
addition to rewriting its own history, Turkey is unashamedly
exporting its ideas on this matters to other countries.”

Oskanian also made a significant reference to Armenia’s fear of
Turkish military strength, saying “For as long as Turkey has a strong
army, and for as long as it supports Azerbijan politically, Armenia
will not feel safe.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress