The vice speaker of Armenian parliament hailed the statement of a Turkish MP Ahmet Turk, urging for recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
“I welcome Turk’s call for his country to come to terms with its past. Turkish leadership must follow the MP’s suit in apologizing to Armenian people for this crime against humanity,” Eduard Sharmazanov said.
Earlier, the main mediator in the negotiations between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdoğan and the leader of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Öcalan, Turkish MP Ahmet Türk commented on the role of Kurds in the Armenian Genocide.
According to Milliyet daily, Türk said, “It is high time, we came to terms with our past. Our forefathers and ancestors of Ottomans massacred Armenians, Assyrians and Yezidis. Our ancestors’ hands are stained with the blood of Armenians, Assyrians and Yezidis. We are obliged to apologize to Armenian descendants. The apology means a lot for our future. I hope Turkey will admit the truth and will apologize to Armenians. That’s historical necessity. Turkish authorities can’t deny the fact that a state decision was taken to annihilate thousands of Armenians, Assyrians and Yezidis during the Ottoman Empire. It won’t be difficult to apologize as the massacres were committed before the establishment of the Turkish State.”