‘SERBIA WILL APOLOGIZE FOR SREBRENICA SLAUGHTER,’ TURKISH FM SAYS
Hurriyet
March 18 2010
Turkey
Turkey’s top diplomat said Thursday that Serbia would soon officially
"apologize" for the Srebrenica Massacre that claimed the lives of
hundreds of Bosnian Muslims in 1995.
"The next step is the apology to be released by the Serbs over the
Srebrenica slaughter," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a small
group of journalists accompanying him en route to Bulgaria.
In recent months, Davutoglu has engaged in intense diplomatic talks
between Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries in the
region in an effort to end potential strife between the neighboring
nations. Earlier, Turkey-mediated talks had prompted Serbia and Bosnia
and Herzegovina to appoint ambassadors to each others’ capitals.
Despite Davutoglu’s statements, the Serbian parliament is only expected
to issue a declaration expressing its sadness over the loss of innocent
lives during the 1992-1995 war periods. Davutoglu will initiate more
meetings between the two countries in the upcoming months to ensure
stable progress in the region.
"Turks and Serbs were in a 1,000-year-old conflict. It goes back to
the 12th century. However, our problems with Armenia are only 100
years old," Davutoglu said. "If we can solve problems in the Balkans
with Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, why can’t we do the same
with Armenia?"
Noting that the mood of the bilateral relations between Turkey
and Serbia has drastically changed within the span of just a year,
Davutoglu said he had met with his Serbian counterpart 11 times in
the last six months.
"Armenians do not talk with us on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. But we
say the opposite: If we could solve the problem with Serbs through
dialogue, we can do it with you as well," the Turkish foreign minister
said. "We tell them, thanks to our efforts, Bosnia and Herzegovina
and Serbia could overcome their problems. Let us do the same for you
and Azerbaijan."