Turkey glad US president avoided referring to Armenian “genocide”

Anatolia news agency
27 Apr 05

Ankara, 27 April: Turkey welcomed some parts of the statement that US
President George Bush made on 24 April, in which he took into
consideration several sensitivities of Turkey regarding so-called
Armenian genocide allegations, and supported Turkey’s proposal to form
a joint commission (to examine the allegations), Turkish Foreign
Ministry said on Wednesday [27 April].

Foreign Ministry spokesman Namik Tan told weekly press briefing: “It
is not possible for us to agree on some assessments in this
statement. History can solely be written on the basis of official
documents, the accuracy of which is indisputable.” On the other hand,
Tan said that the process to be launched after formation of a joint
commission would constitute a significant step for settlement of
tolerance and compromise between the two nations (Turkish and Armenian
peoples) and contribute to regional peace and stability.

Touching on the letter sent by Armenian President Robert Kocharyan to
Ankara, Tan said that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was
the interlocutor of this letter, and noted that the public would be
informed after the letter was assessed. [Passage omitted]