Ankara, January 20, 2015 (AFP) – Prime Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu Islamic-conservative proposed to Armenia a “fresh start” to appease the serious tensions between the two countries about the Armenian massacres perpetrated there a hundred years ago by the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

Davutoglu held that it was “possible for two old, to have the maturity to understand and to look to the future together” in a written statement released the day after the anniversary of the death of the famous Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was murdered in 2007 in Istanbul.

“Turks and Armenians, who share the same geography and long history, must be able to talk about their problems and together find a way to solve them,” he added. Unlike many other countries, Turkey refuses to recognize the qualification of genocide in the killings of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.

Ankara is content to describe the deaths of approximately 500,000 people (against 1.5 million according to Armenia), who had sided with his enemy Russia in fighting or because of famines.

In April 2014, the current Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had offered unprecedented condolences for the Armenian victims, speaking of a “joint pain”. But earlier this month, he formally ruled out any recognition of the genocide.

“Turkey shares the suffering of Armenians and made efforts, with patience and determination to restore the sympathy between our two peoples,” said Mr Davutoglu by invoking the “spirit” of Hrant Dink.

Several thousand people marched in Istanbul Monday to honor the memory of the murdered journalist, who worked for the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation.

Erdogan has sparked a new controversy last week by inviting Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan the ceremonies of Gallipoli centenary of the Battle of April 24, the day commemorating the genocide of the Armenians.

Sarkisian opposed him dry end of inadmissibility, the will of accusing “distract the world” ceremonies scheduled in Yerevan. Turkey and Armenia do not have diplomatic relations.