M.F.A. SPOKESMAN: IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO SHARE SOME EXPRESIONS IN PRESIDENT BUSH’S REMARKS
Turkish Press, MI
April 30 2007
ANKARA – "It is impossible for us to share some expressions in U.S.
President George W. Bush`s remarks on April 24th. Turkish nation
is extremely sensitive about Armenian allegations which are lack of
historical, scientific and legal ground," Levent Bilman, spokesman
for the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Wednesday.
President Bush released a written statement on April 24th, anniversary
of so-called Armenian genocide.
"Turkish government`s attitude regarding the issue is based on a moral
point of view on the ground of historical and legal facts. The duty
of writing and commenting about the historical events should belong
to only historians. The controversial periods of the history can be
understood by carrying out scientific researches in relevant archives
and historical records without prejudices and censoring," Bilman said.
He noted, "Turkey, as a sign of good-will, proposed Armenia on April
10th, 2005, to establish a joint commission of historians to research
the 1915 events and to share their findings with the world public
opinion. Our propose also welcomes participation of third parties.
Turkey opened its all archives to researches to enable them to carry
out their work freely."
"President Bush underlined in his remarks that an open historical
examination of the facts was essential for normalizing relations
between Turkey and Armenia. We agree with President Bush and expect
him to maintain his efforts to encourage Armenia to give a positive
response to our historical proposal," Bilman added.