Today, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid tribute to the memory of the victims of the 1915 tragic events that took place in the Ottoman Empire. Erdogan stressed that the memory of the centuries-old history of the joint peaceful life of Turks and Armenians should not disappear.
”We cannot allow a centuries-old culture of Turks, Armenians living together to be forgotten. It had been growing over hundreds of years and was considered an example for all mankind," the Turkish President said.
In his address to the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople Sahak Mashalian, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he honours "the memory of Armenians of the Ottoman state who died in the difficult conditions of World War I” and expressed his condolences to their grandchildren.
The Turkish leader drew attention to the fact that modern attempts to politicize the 1915 events in order to use their interpretation as a lever of pressure on Ankara do not advance the cause of good relations. Erdogan said that relations with Armenia should be built on the basis of good neighbourliness and mutual respect.
"After the settlement of the Karabakh crisis, we declared our readiness to develop ties with Armenia. Today I repeat this call again," the Turkish President concluded.
