May 17, 2005 - 12:53 AMT
TURKEY CRITICIZES ACTIONS OF BELGIUM
When commenting on the decision of the Belgian Parliament to establish criminal punishment for denial of the Armenian Genocide, Turkish PM R. Erdogan said, «I cannot understand when a country that has nothing in common with the affair passes such a decision.» «If that decision comes into effect, Turkey will undertake steps to pass corresponding resolutions regarding the countries that have really committed genocides in the past,» he stated when addressing the CoE Summit in Warsaw. As noted by Erdogan, «the decision on genocide» is a prerogative of local politicians. At that he noted that that Armenians will not obtain any results in international recognition of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey by means of their lobby. He also noted that the CoE considers Armenia an «occupier country» and it has to withdraw its troops from Nagorno Karabakh instead of making ungrounded accusations of other states. As noted by Erdogan, Turkey has already opened its archives for historians, lawyers and scholars and wishes that Armenia and other countries do the same. «Armenia does not wish to establish bilateral relations,» he emphasized, Regnum news agency reported.