Davutoglu: Turkey never supported “inhumane deportation of Armenians”

PanARMENIAN.Net - The “deportation” of Armenians in 1915 was inhumane, and Turkey has never supported the move, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said on Dec 12 as he made a visit to Armenia.

According to Hurriyet Daily News, Davutoğlu expressed hope that a collective consciousness between the two countries could be created with a “just memory.”

“By ‘just memory’ I mean is that we should know the facts. Then we see that Turkish-Armenian relations have nothing in common with German-Jewish ties.

After you discover this, you’ll see the deportation as a totally wrong practice employed by [the Ottoman-era rulers under the Committee of Union and Progress]. It was inhumane,” Davutoğlu told a group of reporters en route to Yerevan.

“In writing the deportation history, collective consciousness was created in Turkey that Armenians betrayed their nation and deserved the deportation. We should destroy this wrong persecution on both Armenian and Turkish sides. We, as opposed to Armenians, abolished the wrong consciousness in 2005,” he told reporters.

“Our primary aim is not only to open the Turkish-Armenian border but to form a foundation that will pave the way for comprehensive peace,” Davutoğlu said. “It has three pillars. The first one is relations between Turkey and Armenia. The second one is Azerbaijani-Armenian relations. This also includes Georgian-Abkhaz ties. The third one is relations between Turks and Armenians,” he said.

“If one of the pillars is damaged, it will create distress. Let’s say we opened the Armenian border gate. If a war breaks out between Armenia and Azerbaijan, then we would be forced to close it again. Unfreezing the status quo iceberg is the hardest thing. You could end up unleashing a war while trying to do that,” he said.

The foreign minister said Turkey was holding talks with the Armenian Diaspora without publicizing the matter. “In the past, negotiations with Diaspora have been perceived as a threat or spying. Diplomats were concerned that the negotiations might be recorded. But now it has become a duty. Now, whenever I go abroad I meet with the Armenian community if there is one.

We don’t publicly announce that due to the fact that extremist Armenians would cause problems,” he said. “What we realize is that unless we create a foundation by boosting ties with the Diaspora, that puts pressure on ties with Armenia, the issue might become deadlocked.”

Accompanied by Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu, Davutoğlu visited Yerevan for the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) group meeting. The top diplomat met with his Armenian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, on the sidelines of the summit.

“We are very pleased with the meeting with Nalbandian; it was candid. The primary aim is to build an environment of dialogue on a strong basis,” Davutoğlu said after the meeting, while dismissing claims that he suggested that Armenia cede two regions in Nagorno Karabakh.