ERDOGAN, OSKANIAN SPAR OVER ARMENIAN ISSUE AT MUNICH CONFERENCE
arminfo
2008-02-11 16:39:00
ArmInfo. An international security conference held in Munich over the
weekend was the scene of a quarrel between Turkey’s Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Armenia’s Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian,
with Erdogan accusing the Armenian side of avoiding dealing with
historical facts related to the period of the Ottoman Empire,
Zaman reports.
The source reports that opening the 44th annual Munich Security
Conference, Erdogan also reiterated an offer he had extended to
Armenian President Robert Kocharian in 2005 that calls for a joint
committee of Turkish and Armenian experts to study the historical facts
related to the period of the Ottoman Empire. The call has remained
unanswered by Yerevan to date. "At the moment, the Armenian foreign
minister is also here. : There is no such thing called genocide in
our culture and civilization. It is not possible for us to accept
this, either. We are ready for any confrontation and are ready to
speak with information and documents," Erdogan said. When Oskanian
interrupted his remarks by saying "You are speaking about peace,
but our border is closed," Erdogan continued: "Mr. Oskanian, look,
when I became prime minister, as you know, there were no air links
between Armenia and Turkey. I came, I opened the doors for airline
transportation. Cargo transportation flows from Armenia to Istanbul
now as well." "I have no problem with my Armenian citizens. We get
along extremely well with them.
Other than that, more than 40,000 Armenians have come to my country. I
wonder why? You should ask yourself, why did they come? : Because
Turkey is a country of peace", he told Oskanian.