TURKEY "MAY DEPORT ILLEGAL ARMENIA CITIZENS" OVER HARMFUL BILLS

March 17 2010
Turkey

Turkish PM Erdogan said that the crisis which took place due to
Armenian resolutions would harm Armenia.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that the
crisis which took place due to Armenian resolutions would harm Armenia.

Erdogan replied to questions of Huseyin Alkan from BBC Turkish service
in British capital of London, Anadolu news agency said.

Erdogan said nearly 170,000 Armenians lived in Turkey currently and
100,000 of them were living in Turkey illegally. "We are ignoring
the situation of them now. But if it is needed, I will tell them that
you should go back to your country. They are not my citizens. I don’t
have to keep them in my country," he said.

"The current developments are not our problem. It is the problem of
Armenia. This country must make a very important decision. Armenia
should be saved from diaspora’s control," he said.

"No rush"

Erdogan also met with his British counterpart Gordon Brown in London.

Following the gathering, the two officials held a joint press
conference and replied to questions of reporters.

Upon a question on his recent remarks in an interview regarding
the status of illegal Armenian migrants in Turkey, Erdogan said,
"We will not decide on such matter immediately. These people have been
living in our country for more than 10 years. However, if developments
continue like this, we will definitely make an assessment and take
the necessary steps," he said.

Replying to another question, Erdogan said Armenia should be rescued
from the diaspora’s control.

"At this point, the Minsk Group has an important duty. It should
fulfill such task. Once it is fulfilled, all the problems will
naturally vanish and there will not be any problems between Turkey
and Armenia, or between Armenia and Azerbaijan," he said.

"EU promises"

In regard to relations between Turkey and EU, Erdogan said the EU
should keep its promise regarding the country’s EU accession process.

A revision should be brought up in regard to the chapters which were
not opened, he said. "There are four chapters on which we can talk. We
are working on these four chapters. I think that Spain’s presidency
term will be like a signal flare," he said.

Replying to a question on opening of ports to Greek Cypriot ships,
Erdogan said, "if both parties open their ports mutually, we are
ready for that. We want the EU to keep its words."

When asked whether tension with the United States (caused by Armenian
resolution) will overshadow the role that Turkey wants to play in the
Middle East, Erdogan said, "we will do what we can. We are exerting
efforts with goodwill. We are working to contribute to world peace."