CANADA SUPPORTS TURKEY’S CALL TO ESTABLISH JOINT COMMITTEE FOR ARMENIAN CLAIMS
Journal of Turkish weekly, Turkey
Oct 21 2006
Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said that his country supported
a Turkish proposal of setting up a joint committee of historians to
study genocide allegations, Turkish Foreign Minister Spokesman Namik
Tan said in a written statement.
Tan stated that Canadian Foreign Minister MacKay attended a reception
at the Turkish embassy in Ottawa Wednesday, on the occasion of the
establishment of Turkish-Canadian Friendship Group established in
the Canadian parliament.
Delivering a speech at the reception, MacKay noted that he supported
the Turkish proposal. MacKay also related that he urged his Armenian
counterpart, Vartan Oskanian, to support the Turkish proposal,
Tan added.
Tan also stated that Mackay appreciated Turkey for its efforts to
evacuate Canadian citizens during the conflict between Israeli and
Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon in July.
MacKay also conveyed that his country welcomed Turkey’s cooperation
with Canada in Afghanistan.
Turkey and Armenia have disputes on 1915 events. Both sides accuse
each other of committing massacres. Armenians call the 1915 events as
‘genocide’ while Turkey says about 2 million Muslim Ottoman citizens
were massacred by the armed Armenian groups during and post-First
World War era.