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AKP deputy: â€œIt is impossible to put pressure on Turkey regarding the Armenian issueâ€

27 September 2014 10:27 (UTC +04:00)

Ankara. Mayis Alizadeh – APA. “Turkey's position on "Armenian genocide" allegations has been evident since our party came to power: we have repeatedly stated that parliaments can not pass decision on history matters. Some of our citizens were moved from one corner of the territories to another one in the last periods of the Ottoman Empire. Of course, no one wants people to leave their native lands. However, today, the Parliament’s passing decision on the events that happened under that period’s conditions is wrong,” the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) Van deputy and head of Turkish Parliament Foreign Affairs Commission Burhan Kayaturk told APA.

Answering the question “Turkey is expected to face pressures regarding the 100th anniversary of so-called "Armenian genocide" in 2015. What is your Commission doing in this regard?” Kayaturk said that Turkey is completely self-reliant in this issue: “We have opened all of our archives and demand other countries to do so. However, many countries rejected it. Until recently, I was a member of the Turkish delegation to the PACE. According to the proposal made by the Turkish MPs, PACE adopted a recommendation on "Armenian genocide" allegations. Thus, it was recommended that historical events should be assessed by the historians, not by the parliaments. Turkey wanted to “normalize” its relations with Armenia, but Armenian Constitutional Court suspended the process under the pressure and threats of the Armenian diaspora. People are living in a difficult financial situation in Armenia, while Diaspora Armenians are always inciting hostility towards Turkey for the sake of their own interests. Armenia has been also keeping the territories of fraternal Azerbaijan under occupation for a long time.”

Kayaturk noted that Turkey would be pleased of Armenia’s withdrawal from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and solution of the problems between the two countries: “We will always support Azerbaijan’s legitimate struggle in this direction.”

The parliamentarian reiterated that no parliament’s decision on “genocide” can change Turkey's position: “It is impossible to put pressure on Turkey. We are confident that our ancestors didn’t commit genocide. We will frequently meet and inform politicians of the countries that passed unfair decisions against Turkey. Our archives are open for everyone. I am sure that a commission including the world's top historians will be sooner or later entrusted with dealing this issue,” he said.