BOGOTA
Hurriyet Daily News
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called on Armenia to examine the 1915 events through the lens of “science, not politics,” criticizing the rejection of Ankara’s invitation to representatives of the country to attend war commemoration ceremonies in Turkey.
“Let’s remove the 1915 events from the area of politics and refer to science and scientists,” Erdoğan said during a symposium on the topic, co-organized by Bogota Externado University and Ankara University. He was attending the event as part of his official visit to Colombia on Feb. 10.
“What the Armenians did against the Turks and what the Turks did against the Armenians 100 years ago has not been properly discussed,” Erdoğan said.
“We have made an effort to fix relations with Armenia and open a new page. Unfortunately, our hand of peace has always been rejected by the influence of the Armenian diaspora,” he added.
In January, the Turkish president sent invitation letters to more than 100 leaders, including Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, to participate in ceremonies on April 24 marking the centenary of the Battle of Gallipoli in Çanakkale. The ceremonies in Çanakkale were rearranged this year to coincide with Armenia’s traditional day of remembrance for the Armenian victims of 1915.
Sargsyan reportedly denounced Erdoğan’s invitation as a “short-sighted” attempt to overshadow the 100th anniversary the massacres of Ottoman Armenians.
“We would like them to come and be in Çanakkale on April 24, to breathe in that atmosphere and try to understand that happened among our hundreds of thousands of martyrs. But they won’t do that,” Erdoğan said.
“They once again blocked peace and dialogue with their statement, which violated protocols of courtesy,” he added, while vowing “not to give up on our efforts for peace and dialogue.”
“We will continue to approach this issue under the light of history and science, not with propaganda, perception games or ugly international politics,” he stressed.
“This year is the 100th anniversary. We are still reiterating our sincere call,” Erdoğan added.
It’s impossible to close the door when it’s locked from the inside-Armenia’s MFA counters
Erdoğan
YEREVAN, 11 FEBRUARY, ARMENPRESS. It’s impossible to close a door when it’s locked from the inside. This is what press speaker of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Tigran Balayan declared as he commented on Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdoğan’s statement at the request of NEWS.am.
Earlier, it became clear that during the official visit to Colombia, Erdoğan had declared that “Armenia has closed the door to peace”.
“We know that the Armenian Diaspora is leading an anti-Turkish campaign. We have made efforts to turn a new page, but unfortunately, the hand that we extended is still hanging in thin air. We said let us remove that issue from the political agenda and move it to the academic level prior to the 100th anniversary. We sent an invitation to Çanakkale on April 24th, but Armenia closed the door to peace,” Erdoğan declared.
Let us mention that Turkey traditionally marked the anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli on March 18th, not on April 24th.
Before Turkey would decide to move the date, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan had invited President of Turkey Recep Tayyib Erdoğan to Yerevan and attend the Armenian Genocide Centennial Commemoration events on April 24th, but Erdoğan had not responded to the invitation.