ANKARA OPPOSES DISCUSSING OF SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN ISRAELI PARLIAMENT: HIGH RANK TURKISH MP

Trend News Agency
April 10 2008
Azerbaijan

Israel, Jerusalem, 9 April / corr. TrendNews R. Abdullayev/ The
official Ankara oppose discussions of the so-called Armenian genocide
in Israeli parliament, as it can harm the strategic Turkey-Israel
relations.

"The so-called Armenian genocide is very delicate issue for Turkish.

We do not want this issue to be discussed in Israeli parliament,"
Murat Marjan, the chairman of international relations committee of
Turkish parliament said to TrendNews on 9 April.

The Israeli Knesset (parliament) decided on 26 March to bring into
the discussion of one of parliament committees the so-called Armenian
genocide. Knesset had rejected the similar initiative in May 2007.

The position of Israeli political Establishment satisfies Ankara
to a sufficient degree, said Marjan. "We met with Israeli President,
speaker of Knesset, Premier and foreign minister. In all these meetings
our delegation showed understanding toward the position of Israeli
government on this issue. We thank Israeli government for their clear
and reasonable approach to this problem," said Turkish MP.

According to Marjanov, the Turkish premier Rajab Tayyib Ardogan has
already proposed Armenian government to set up international committee
of researchers in connection with the ‘genocide’ claims of Armenians,
however there is no official response yet.

"We simply explained some Israeli politicians that there is no need
to write a history based on political bias which can harm strategic
partnership between Israel and Turkey," said Marjan.

Armenia accuses Ankara of committing genocide against a million and
half Armenians, and its lobby makes every effort so that parliaments of
various countries discuss this issue. Ankara rejects these accusations
stating that it is a matter of history and the events took place not
in modern Turkey.

There are no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey and the
border between the two countries has been closed since 1993. Ankara
calls on Armenia to give up the policy of international recognition
of so-called Armenian genocide and to leave the occupied territory
of Azerbaijan.