Canada supports proposal for joint history commission – Turkish official

Anatolia news agency, Ankara,
20 Oct 06

Ankara, 20 October: "Foreign Minister Peter MacKay of Canada supports
our proposal to establish a joint history commission and encourages
Armenia to join the commission," said Namik Tan, spokesman for Turkish
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Friday [20 October].

"MacKay attended a reception held at the Turkish embassy in Ottawa on
18 October to mark the establishment of Turkey-Canada Parliamentary
Friendship Group. During the reception, MacKay extended support to
our proposal to establish a joint history commission and encouraged
Armenia to join the commission," he said.

"MacKay also said that they attached great importance to Turkey’s
regional role and Turkey-Canada bilateral relations. He highlighted
importance of Turkey-Canada cooperation in Afghanistan and thanked
Turkey for its assistance in evacuation of Canadian people from
Lebanon," he said.

Tan recalled that Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister
Abdullah Gul met MacKay on 22 September, during the United Nations
General Assembly meetings.

"During the meeting, Gul expressed Turkey’s regret over adoption of a
bill about so-called Armenian genocide by the Canadian Parliament in
2004. Gul informed MacKay on Turkey’s views about baseless allegations
of Armenians.

"Following the meeting, MacKay sent a letter to Gul in which he
extended Canadian government’s support to Turkey’s proposal to
establish a joint history commission to deal with the issue,"
Tan added.