Daniel Fried: Mass killing of Armenians is a proven fact

ArmRadio.am
13.04.2007 16:06

US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia Daniel Fried
declared that `the Turkish Government has never blackmailed and has
not threatened the US Government’ connected with the possible adoption
of the Armenian Genocide resolutions in the US Congress, Mediamax
reports.

In Daniel Fried’s words, `they have never said they will take punitive
steps in case the resolution is adopted.’ The US Assistant Secretary
of State said the statements of the Turkish Government were asserting
that `the Turkish Parliament can undertake something in case our
Parliament takes any step.’

Daniel Fried considers that in Turkey `there exists an increasing
discussion about their past of the Ottoman Empire era, the relations
with the Armenian community and the mass killings that occurred in
1915 and thereafter.’

`We think that Turkey and Armenia must seriously discuss their common
past. It must be a dialogue of historians. The United States has
never refuted these killings. It is a proven historic fact, but
historians must discuss what has happened and why, and who has done
what. It must take place through the process of national
reconciliation,’ said Daniel Fried.

`We also think that Turkey must open the border with Armenia and
restore normal relations,’ the Assistant Secretary of State declared.

`We welcome the last steps of Turkey – reopening of the Armenian
Church in Eastern Turkey although as a museum,’ declared Daniel Fried,
noting that in Turkey there are people who are ready for
reconciliation. As a proof of that he mentioned the reaction of
thousands of Turks to the assassination of the editor-in-chief of the
Agos weekly Hrant Dink.