Turkey demands explanation from Tehran regarding Iranian Vice President’s statement on Armenian Genocide

PanARMENIAN.Net - Alarmed by reports that Iran’s Vice President said the events of 1915 constituted a genocide, Turkey is seeking high-level explanation from Tehran, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

“A hundred years ago the Ottoman Empire committed genocide against a certain number of Armenians,” Hamid Baghaei said during ‘Iran, a bridge of success’ conference on Wednesday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu spoke late Friday with his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, who told him that “Iran's position was in line with Turkey's stance on the issue.”

“I asked for an explanation from Mr. Mottaki,” Davutoglu told journalists in the central Anatolian province of Karaman on Friday.

During their telephone conversation, Mottaki told Davutoglu that the conference attended by the Iranian Vice President was about World War II, not about World War I and Iran’s position on the issue hasn’t changed. But Davutoglu seems unsatisfied with Mottaki’s assurance. He said he told his Iranian counterpart that Turkey was awaiting an explanation from Baghaei himself.

“Mottaki told me that Baghaei will make an explanation,” Davutoglu said.