TURKISH DEFENSE MINISTER STATES THAT HIS WORDS WERE MISINTERPRETED

ArmInfo
2008-11-11 20:34:00

ArmInfo. Turkish Defense Minister Vedgdi Genul assurs that his Nov
10 statement that migration of Armenians and Greeks from the Turkish
territory was an important step towards establishment of the Turkish
state was misinterpreted, Radio Liberty reports with reference to
Anadolu news agency.

According to the source, on November 10 at the Turkish embassy in
Brussels Genul said: "Would today’s national Turkish state exist
if Greeks remained in the areas near the Aegean Sea, and Armenians
continued living in part of Turkish territories? I don’t know what
words one can use to explain the significance of this change of
population, but if one looks at the population proportion of that time,
this becomes obvious", he said. He added that Ankara had been populated
with Jews, Islamists, Armenians and Greeks before the Turkish republic
was established. According to Reuters agency, Genul said today that
he was misinterpreted, but at the same time, he gave no comments.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress