TURKISH MP IMPRESSED BY WARM WELCOME IN YEREVAN

Armenpress

YEREVAN, JUNE 13, ARMENPRESS: A Turkish parliament member from the
ruling Justice and Development Party, Turhan Comez, told Armenpress
he was impressed greatly by what he saw in Armenia. “I was given a
very warm welcome in Yerevan and liked the city very much,’ Comez,
the first Turkish parliament member to have visited Armenia said.

Comez and several Turkish journalists arrived in Armenia last Friday
and met here with students and professors of Yerevan State University,
parliament chairman Arthur Baghdasarian, officials of the foreign
ministry, Yerevan mayor.

Comez said the goal of his visit to Armenia is to seek ways to bridge
differences between the two neighboring nations, though the visit is
unofficial, “but what is important is its results.” He said his trip
to Armenia was a step towards normalization of relations and opening
of borders.

He said Armenian journalists, businessmen and parliament members are
welcome in Turkey. The Turkish MP said then it was a wrong policy
to make relations between Armenia and Turkey contingent on a third
country (Azerbaijan). He said the best way to solve the existing
problems is through dialogue, but when asked to express his views on
the 1915 genocide, he reiterated official Ankara’s views that it was
a painful event, but not a genocide.