, Turkey
March 14 2010

Turkey not to be silent over Armenia votes, Davutoglu says

The Turkish foreign minister said that nobody could put pressure on Turkey.

Sunday, 14 March 2010 09:46
The Turkish foreign minister said on Saturday that nobody could put
pressure on Turkey.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that if the aim of the
decision of the Swedish parliament was to put pressure on Turkey,
nobody could put pressure on Turkey.

Davutoglu’s remarks came after the Swedish parliament adopted a
resolution on the Armenian allegations regarding the incidents of
1915.

"The decision of the Swedish parliament is a shocking development,"
Davutoglu told foreign reporters in Lapland, Finland.

Davutoglu said in principle, politicians should not decide on
historical matters.

It was unacceptable for those who did not have any knowledge about
history to judge a nation regarding such an issue, Davutoglu said.

"Wherever it is, whether it is in the Swedish parliament or the U.S.
parliament, it is unacceptable", he said.

The Swedish parliament adopted on Thursday the resolution by 131 votes
against 130 votes.

"How come can only one vote decide whether a historical incident is a
‘so-called’ genocide," he asked.

Davutoglu said Turkey would not remain silent to such developments.

Turkey and Armenia were undergoing a normalization process this year,
and it was not wise to have such discussions, he said.

"If this decision is made to satisfy domestic political concerns,
Turkey and such a historical incident should not be misused," he said.

Davutoglu said Turkey would never accept such accusations, and every
one should look at his/her own history.

Turkey strongly rejects the genocide allegations and regards the
events as civil strife in wartime which claimed lives of many Turks
and Armenians.

Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols on October 10, 2009 to
normalize relations between the two countries. The protocols envisage
the two countries to establish diplomatic ties and open the border
that has been close since 1993. Turkey and Armenia also agreed to take
steps to operate a sub-commission on impartial scientific examination
of the historical records and archive to define existing problems and
formulate recommendations, in which Armenian, Turkish as well as Swiss
and other international experts would take part. However, on January
12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of Armenia declared a decision of
constitutional conformity on the protocols. Turkey thought the fifth
article of Armenian Constitutional Court’s verdict regarding the
protocols was against the target and basis of the protocols.

"Diplomacy"

On Iran’s nuclear program, Davutoglu said Turkey believed the issue
could be solved through diplomatic means and Turkey did not want to
see more sanctions in its regions since the Middle East had been
negatively affected by previous military tensions and sanctions.

Davutoglu said the region needed political stability and cultural co-existence.

"We are against all nuclear weapons wherever they are stationed," he said.

Davutoglu said Turkey wanted a nuclear-free Middle East, and was
against nuclear weapons in the region whether they were stationed in
Israel and Iran.

However, Turkey supported use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes,
and every country had the right to use nuclear energy for such
purposes, he said.

Also, Davutoglu said Turkey wanted the European Union (EU) to be more
active in international relations.

Davutoglu said Turkish economy would not be a burden on the EU, on the
contrary, it would give a huge dynamism to the union.

AA