Turkish foundation seeks to open culture center in Armenia

26.03.2010 16:37 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish foundation wants to open culture center in
Armenia. Director General of the Yunus Emre Foundation, Ali Fuat
Bilkan, said Friday, once the Protocols signed between Turkey and
Armenia went into effect, they desired to open a Yunus Emre Turkish
Culture Center in Armenia.

Bilkan said that "if permitted by Armenia, I will go there and open a
Yunus Emre Turkish Culture Center. I will not wait for (the
ratification of) the protocols".

"Why should not we open up to Armenia? We (Turks) do not have a
history to hide, keep secret or feel ashamed of," Bilkan stressed.

We can not base a foreign policy on the concept of friend-enemy.
Turkey can establish relations with Armenia easily, Bilkan underlined.

To date, we have opened Yunus Emre Turkish culture centers in
Sarajevo, Tirana and Cairo. Today (Friday), we are going to open a
Yunus Emre Turkish Culture Center in Skopje. We will open a center in
Moscow soon, Bilkan said.

We are also planning to open a center in Greece. The center in Greece
will get opened in Athens. The center in Athens will serve those Greek
citizens wishing to conduct researches on Turkish culture and
language, Bilkan said.

Yunus Emre Turkish culture centers work to promote Turkish language,
culture, art and history in different parts of the globe, Anatolian
News agency reported.