Last update – 13:12 26/08/2007
Peres to Turks: Our stance on Armenian issue hasn’t changed By Barak
Ravid<[email protected]>,
Haaretz Editorial
Israel has not changed its position on the killing of 1.5 million Armenians
during World War I, President Shimon Peres assured the Turkish prime
minister last week.
On Tuesday, the Anti-Defamation League announced that it considered the
massacres to be genocide. It apologized for putting the Turkish people in a
"difficult position" in a letter this weekend, the Turkish media reported.
In his conversation with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Peres
reiterated the Israeli position that Turkey and Armenia should resolve the
dispute on the nature of the killings through dialogue. Jerusalem is careful
not to refer to the killings as a genocide.
Following the ADL’s statement, Turkey was feeling "disappointed with its
friends," Erdogan said. President Peres told the Turkish prime minister that
Israel does not control U.S. Jewish organizations, which pursue their own
agendas.
Foreign Ministry sources told Haaretz that they believe that Peres’ efforts
and the calming actions of the Israeli embassy in Ankara have helped ease
tensions over the ADL’s statement.
The Turkish media reported over the weekend that ADL President Abraham
Foxman sent Erdogan a letter stating the ADL has "utmost respect for the
Turkish people."
"We had no intention to put the Turkish people or its leaders in a difficult
position. I am writing this letter to you to express our sorrow over what we
have caused for the leadership and people of Turkey in the past few days,"
Foxman’s letter reportedly read.
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