00:03, 14 December 2013

Turkish Foreign Minister acknowledges that the deportation of Armenians in 1915 was "inhumane"

Participant of a rally demanding that Turkey should recognize the Armenian Genocide. Yerevan, December 12, 2013. Photo PanARMENIAN Photo/Karo Sahakyan

On the outcome of his December 12 visit to Armenia, Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish Foreign Minister, has confessed that the deportation of Armenians in 1915 was an inhuman act.

"I regard deportation as an absolutely erroneous practice," the "Interfax" quotes Mr Davutoglu as saying.

On December 12, activists of various organizations and parties held a rally in Yerevan demanding from the Turkish Foreign Minister that his country should recognize the Armenian Genocide. The action was organized by members of the Students' Union "Nikol Agbalyan" of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) "Dashnaktsutyun" and of some other organizations and parties.

Let us remind you that that Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations; the border of the two countries was closed in 1993 on the initiative of Ankara. The contradictions regard the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the historical evaluation of the events of 1915 in Ottoman Turkey – Armenia expects from Ankara to recognize the massive massacres of Armenians during the deportation as genocide, but Turkey has steadfastly refused to do it.