WASHINGTON D.C. - The Turkish Ambassador in Washington D.C. has called on Armenians not to raise children with animosity.
Speaking at a meeting hosted by the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies on "the Future of Turkey-U.S. Strategic Partnership", Nabi Sensoy said, "the draft resolution submitted to the U.S. Congress on the incidents of 1915 brought Turkey-U.S. relations to 'brink of a disaster'. We are pleased with leaving those days behind as a result of resolute attitude of U.S. administration and congressmen."
Sensoy reminded that Prime Minister Erdogan had called on Armenians to form a joint committee of historians to unveil the truth.
"Turkey has opened its archives long ago. Armenians should do the same thing. We expect politicians in the United States and in other countries to let historians to deal with past events," he said.
"We should not raise our children with animosity. I grew up together with many Turkish citizens of Armenian descent. It was one of our Armenian neighbors who cried and mourned most when I lost my father. Enmity does not lead us to anywhere," he said.
Denying accusations that Turkey imposed economic embargo on Armenia, Sensoy said that Turkey was the fifth biggest economic partner of Armenia and number of weekly flights between Turkey and Armenia reached four.
"Everyone in Turkey condemned killing of journalist Hrant Dink. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest his assassination. It is not correct to claim that the Armenian issue was not discussed in Turkey. On the contrary, any opposition to state's views regarding the incidents of 1915 was banned in Armenia with an amendment to the penal code in October 2006." he said.
Sensoy also criticized that the Armenian diaspora thwarted Armenian Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan's speech during his visit to Washington D.C.
Referring to the other developments in the region, Sensoy said, "Like the international community, Turkey does not want to see Iran armed with nuclear weapons. However, we think that Iran should not be fully isolated by the international community. Instead, we should improve our relations with them and try to persuade them to change their policies."
(UK-MS)