Turkish army accuses Armenia, tensions rise
Fri Oct 13, 2006 4:10pm ET
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s military said on Friday Armenian soldiers fired
into its territory two days ago amid an escalation in tensions after France’s
passage of a law making it a crime to deny Armenians suffered genocide by
Ottoman Turks.
The powerful General Staff called on the Foreign Ministry to investigate the
incident on the border on October 11, which it said caused no injuries or
material damage.
"Turkish soldiers came under harassing fire from Armenian territories on the
Turkey-Armenia border on October 11, 2006," the Turkish General Staff said in
a statement.
Turkey closed its border with the ex-Soviet republic of Armenia in 1993 to
protest against Yerevan’s occupation of territory inside Azerbaijan, a
Turkic-speaking ally of Ankara.
Ties have also been strained by claims by Armenia that some 1.5 million of
its people suffered genocide from 1915 to 1923 on Ottoman territory.
Turkey denies any genocide, saying the Armenians were victims of a partisan
war that also claimed many Muslim Turkish lives. Turkey accuses Armenians of
carrying out massacres while siding with invading Russian troops.
The military’s statement comes a day after France’s lower house of parliament
approved a law making it a crime to deny the genocide. France is home to
Europe’s largest Armenian diaspora.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan warned on Friday that European Union-applicant
Turkey was studying retaliatory measures against France following approval of
the law, which still needs the senate and President Jacques Chirac’s
approval.
Turkey’s problems with Armenia have always threatened to complicate Ankara’s
entry talks with the EU, which expects all member states to have good
relations with their neighbours.
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