Davutoglu Meets with Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt in Lapland

11:41 – 13.03.10

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with his Swedish
counterpart, Carl Bildt, at an informal gathering in Lapland, Finland,
yesterday, reports News.az.

Following the meeting, Davutoglu told reporters, "We regret that the
Swedish parliament decided to approve the [Armenian Genocide]
resolution. First of all, we think that parliaments should not
evaluate such historical events since most of parliamentarians do not
have adequate information about those events. Politicization of the
history leads to serious problems for our societies. We consider this
decision of the Swedish parliament as a big mistake. It is impossible
to accept it."

"Secondly, there were perfect relations between Turkey and Sweden.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was scheduled to pay a visit to
Sweden next week to further improve our bilateral relations which we
described as a kind of strategic partnership. Under the light of
recent developments, we had to cancel Prime Minister Erdogan’s visit.
Also, we recalled our ambassador in Stockholm for consultations. We
did not expect such a decision from the parliament of a friendly
country," he said.

Davutoglu said, "I conveyed our views to Bildt. We hope that such
decisions which provoke developments in the region would not be made
in the future. Turkey will not allow anyone else to evaluate its
history."

Tert.am