Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
April 28 2005

Armenia Gives Cautious Reply to Turkish Offer for Study of Historical
Claims

Jan SOYKOK – Armenia says it could take part in a commission with
Turkey to study decades-old Armenian allegations.

Armenian President Robert Kocharian said the proposal would only work
if the two countries improve bilateral relations. The neighbors share
a border, but have no diplomatic ties. Armenian does not recognise
Turkey’s national borders and Armenia continue to occupy 20 percent
of Azerbaijan territories.

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul earlier this month said Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the offer in a letter to the
Armenian president.

Turkey has refused to establish diplomatic ties with Armenia because
of Armenian occupation and Armenian irredentist declarations against
Turkey and Azerbaijain. Moreover the Armenian campaign to gain
international recognition of the World War One killings as genocide
damages Turkish-Armenian relations. Hundred thousands of Turkish and
Armenians were killed during the First World War. The armed Armenian
groups killed about 523,000 Turkish and Kurdish and many Armenians
died at the same period. Armenians call the 1915 events genocide
while Turks accuse the Armenians of comming massacres against the
Muslims.

Armenian Ottomans in the eastern provinces rioted against Istanbul in
order to establish a separate Armenia, but they failed.