Agence France Presse — English
April 29, 2005 Friday 12:32 PM GMT

Germany supports joint study of 1915 Armenian massacres by Turks

ANKARA

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder expressed support Friday for a
Turkish proposal to create a joint commission of experts with Armenia
to study the disputed history of the mass killings of Armenians by
Turks in 1915.

“The proposal of the Turkish Prime Minister (Recep Tayyip Erdogan) is
good and this path should be followed,” Schroeder said during an
interview with Turkish television station NTV before his May 3-4
visit to Turkey.

However the German chancellor said it was important that a “nation
looks at its history with a sense of self-criticism”.

Schroeder added that this question would “never” be a pre-condition
imposed on Turkey — which rejects the Armenian claim of a genocide
— for its entry into the European Union.

Ankara fears that the genocide allegations could fuel anti-Turkish
sentiment in international public opinion at a time when it is vying
for EU membership.

Erdogan said Friday Turkey could normalize relations with Armenia at
the same time as undertaking the study of the Armenian massacres.
Turkey had previously demanded that Armenia first abandon its
campaign for the recognition of the World War I massacres as
genocide.

In 1993, Turkey also shut its border with Armenia in a show of
solidarity with its close ally Azerbaijan, which was at war with
Armenia, dealing a heavy economic blow to the impoverished nation.

On Tuesday, Armenian President Robert Kocharian accepted in principle
the Turkish proposal to create a joint committee to study the
genocide allegations but demanded that Ankara first normalize
relations with Yerevan without pre-conditions.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen perished in
deportations and orchestrated killings between 1915 and 1917.

Ankara argues that 300,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died
in what was civil strife during World War I when the Armenians took
up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided with Russian
troops invading the crumbling Ottoman Empire.