ANKARA (AA) - Turkish Foreign Minister & Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul left for Kyrgyzstan on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters prior to his departure, Gul said, ''Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Armenian President Robert Kocharian may have a meeting (in Moscow or Warsaw), but at the moment there is no any scheduled meeting.''
Gul said, ''after collapse of Soviet Union, Turkey recognized Armenia but there is no diplomatic relation between Turkey and Armenia at the moment.''
''This should be understood well. There were several meetings in presidential level in the past, and now meetings in foreign ministers level are being held,'' he added.
Gul said that such meetings can be held within the scope of international meetings, but there is no scheduled meeting between Erdogan and Kocharian at the moment.
Gul said that prohibitions in some European countries on opposition to the so-called Armenian genocide were, in fact, against the basic principles of Europe.
Gul left for Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek together with Turkey-Kyrgyzstan Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly members.
Holding a news conference at Ankara's Esenboga Airport, Gul said that there had been attempts in some European countries considering opposition against the so-called Armenian genocide a crime.
''A dangerous development has occurred in Belgium recently. I held talks with Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht and told him that such an attempt contradicts basic principles of Europe. They are trying to prevent people from explaining their ideas and showing historical facts.''
Belgian parliament has approved a motion and submitted it to the Senate. The motion envisages an imprisonment from 8 days up to 1 year and a fine of 26 up to 5,000 euro for a person who rejects so-called Armenian genocide.
When asked whether Turkish party felt uneasy when German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder described Greek-Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew as ''ecumenical'', Gul said, ''our stance is clear and we have been telling it to everybody.''
-VISIT TO KYRGYZSTAN-
Gul said that elections would be held in Kyrgyzstan on July 10th and he would also talks with candidates during his visit.
Meanwhile, Gul said they were bringing 2.5 tones of humanitarian aid to Kyrgyzstan and they would determine other needs during their stay in this country.
2005-05-05