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Turkish National Security Council
Turkish National Security Council convened on Thursday under the chairmanship of Turkish President Abdullah Gul, at the Cankaya Presidential Palace.
A statement was released at the end of the rmeeting of the council that said : "remarks made by certain countries over the incidents of 1915 and Turkey's initiatives on this issue and it was stressed that the history Turkey and Armenia shared can only be evaluated through an impartial and scientific approach based on undisputable evidence and documents that are free of prejudices."
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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said his country maintained its willingness to settle problems with Armenia, despite the coalition government in Yerevan has decided to suspend the ratification process of two protocols the two countries had signed to normalize relations and restore diplomatic ties, Anadolu Agency reports.
"We have kept our positive stance and remained loyal to the word and the spirit of the protocols from the very beginning and we will continue to do so," Erdogan told a televised address to the nation.
Erdogan reiterated Turkey's proposal to leave the Armenian Genocide issue to historians, criticizing "third parties of trying to forge domestic political clout."
A U.S. House panel and the Swedish parliament have earlier approved two separate bills that affirmed the Armenian Genocide.
"Turkey is very much disturbed from such insincere attitude of countries which we see as our friends, whoever they might be," Erdogan said.
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Turkey and the Israeli Parliament Knesset's decision
Turkish Foreign Ministry said the Israeli Parliament Knesset's decision to accept a proposal to discuss the Armenian allegations regarding the incidents of 1915, was an attempt expected to fail like previous ones.
Commenting on the Knesset's decision to accept the leader of Meretz Party Haim Oron's proposal to debate the Armenian Genocide, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Burak Ozugurgun pointed out that similar proposals were discussed at Knesset in the past and added: "We expect such attempts to fail like the examples in the past."
“Turkey's view on judgment of history by parliamentarians, in general, is well known. It is better to leave interpretation of history to historians," said Ozugurgun.
Ozugurgun informed that Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu would shortly travel to Israel for regular consultations, adding that the Middle East peace process as well as the course of Turkish-Israeli relations would be discussed, Anadolu Agency reports.
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They have said :
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"Our position is that the parliamentarians should give an opportunity to historians to study this issue. I think that Israeli Parliament will not take a false step. (…) Turkey has many friends in Israel.” (Hulusi Kilic)
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“Turkish NGOs wish to establish warm relations with Armenia. If that happens, the issues of protocols and opening of the border will be easily solved. (…) we do not want to speak about the past, we think about what we can do in the future.” (Sali Yuse)
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“Today our century-old enemy is trying to deceive us, therefore, I welcome the regress in the process. Of course, it should be done so as not to cause harm to the image of the country, but I can understand the anxiety of today's authorities.” (Tigran Karapetyan)
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“I think that today's Turkey is not guilty of the events of 1915 like today's Germany has nothing to do with Nazism. Many Turkish citizens today want to normalize the relations with Armenia. Now the Turkish leadership should clear itself of the sins of the past, which they refuse to accept. (…) the protocols have no great future.” (Gonzalo Guarch)
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“Armenia was the first to take a decision on the suspension of the ratification process. Therefore, the international community may possibly blame Armenia for the failure, irrespective of Turkey's behavior. The process is deadlocked and it would be naive to expect the international community to exert pressure on Turkey.” (Suren Surenyants)
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“Turkey will make no concessions: instead it will be waiting for concessions on the Karabakh issue. Therefore, a new process should be starred to correct all the mistakes and omissions.” (Ara Nranyan)
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“we witnessed the opposite: the process further intensified. Besides, the President's speech laid the responsibility for the process on Turkey.” (Sukias Avetisyan)
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“the process will continue to be dangerous for Armenia until our country recalls the protocols.” (Arthur Ghazaryan)
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“The process had reached a deadlock still after the decision of the Armenian Constitutional Court.” (Gagik Melikyan)
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“The Armenian-Turkish process was an opportunity to launch political dialogue.” (Gevorg Manukyan)
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Public Radio of Armenia