Ankara Reacts to Polish Accepting Genocide Allegations
By Foreign News Desk

Published: Friday 22, 2005
zaman.com

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has met with Polish Foreign Minister
Adam Daniel Rotfeld to convey Turkey’s reaction to the Polish decision
to recognize Armenian genocide allegations on Tuesday.

Gul met with Rotfel yesterday at a break after the NATO-Russia
Council meeting in Vilnius in Litvania. The Turkish Minister expressed
disappointment and regret over the Polish decision to recognize the
alleged Armenian genocide in 1915.

On the other side Rotfeld responded, “I’ve never forgotten and will
forget Turkey’s interest, closeness, and aid to the Polish public,”
and gave information about the process of the decision.

The Foreign Ministry has also declared condemnation of the Polish
decision and has refused to accept it. The Ministry said in a
statement that it is not responsible to define events during the WW
I which caused great sorrow for Turks and Armenians, as “genocide”
in a one-sided approach.

The statement says that national parliaments are not the place to
decide historical disputes and they should should not allow any
intiatives that feed antogonism.

Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Polish leader Lech Walesa issued a
statement yesterday saying that Turkey should not be accepted into the
European Union (EU) before accepting the Armenian genocide allegations.