Armenian speaker denies Turkish report about problems with diaspora

Yerkir website, Yerevan
14 Jun 05

Excerpt from report by Armenian newspaper Yerkir website on 14 June

Yerevan, 14 June: The speaker of the Armenian National Assembly,
Artur Bagdasaryan, has denied the report that during his meeting
with a Turkish MP [Turhan Comez], he allegedly said that Armenia has
problems with the Armenian diaspora.

It must be noted that this information was disseminated by the Turkish
newspaper Zaman, but the press centre of the Armenian National Assembly
denied this five days later.

During his press conference, Bagdasaryan not only denied this report,
but also informed journalists that during the meeting, he asked
the Turkish MP why he thought there was an Armenian diaspora of 7
million. The Turkish deputy declined to answer this question.

As for the absence of journalist from the meeting, as a result of
which the Turkish media disseminated disinformation, Bagdasaryan
pointed out that it was an official visit and journalists should not
attend such meetings.

[Passage omitted: about the possible meetings between young Armenians
and Turks]

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress