YEREVAN (AA) - Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy Turan Comez who attended a conference in Yerevan University, said that it (the conference) was just a meeting, but in fact it was a significant step taken for the peace and stability in this geography (where Turkey and Armenia were situated).
Addressing the conference on Turkish-Armenian relations held at Yerevan University, Comez said that the conference (in Yerevan) was welcomed by Turkey.
Noting that Turkey wanted to have good and peaceful relations with its neighbors, Comez said that there should be more visits between the people of two countries to improve Turkish-Armenian relations.
``The communication channels of universities, NGOs and media between the two countries should be particularly open,`` said Comez.
Upon a question of an Armenian lecturer asking the attitude of Turkish parliamentarians towards relations with Armenia, Comez said that ``all Turkish parliamentarians want to have good relations with Armenia.``
``Such kind of platforms are very important to overcome the biased perceptions of the two countries,`` said Comez.
Comez remarked that the aim of his visit was ``to get to know each other`` adding that ``I have been supported by many people in Turkey regarding my visit to Armenia... You can call my visit either as one of friendship, or dialogue, or official visit or unofficial visit. The thing that is important is the dialogue that I want to have with you...``
Upon a question about the Armenian claims of genocide, Comez said that societies had painful incidents in the past. Noting that Turks and Armenians lived peacefully for 850 years, Comez said that Armenians were appointed to important posts in the Ottoman State.
``We should take lessons from the past, we went through sad incidents in 1915, the Ottomans fought in three fronts in that period. It is impossible for us not to be sad about the death of our Armenian citizens due to the law on deportation. But if we want progress, we should always look to the future,`` he added.
Upon a question about the conference which was cancelled at Bogazici University, Comez said that Turkey was a democratic country where all views could be discussed openly.
2005-06-10