Alexander Sotnichenko: namaz in Ani aimed to discredit Turkish government

October 2, 2010 - 14:07 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The domestic situation in Turkey is extremely tensed, a Russian expert said.

“After the September 12 referendum, opposition did not accept the defeat but continued its campaign to discredit the government,” Alexander Sotnichenko, senior expert at Saint Petersburg Center for Middle East Studies, told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

“It’s noteworthy that the namaz on the ruins of Ani was initiated by Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli, who has always criticized the ruling AKP for using religion for political purposes,” he said.

Sotnichenko reminded that hostility between Armenians and Turks developed at the end of the 19th century, as a consequence of nationalistic ideas.

“Fortunately, the majority of forces in Turkey now stand for harmonious habitation of various nationalities in the country,” he said.