Turkish-Armenian writer among Davutoglu party co-foundersDecember 13, 2019 - 15:13 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Former premier of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu launched a new party on Friday, December 13, Ermenihaber.am reports. Interestingly, Turkish journalist, writer and columnist of Armenian descent Etyen Mahçupyan is among the 154 co-founders of the Future Party ("Gelecek Partisi" in Turkish). Davutoglu served as prime minister between 2014 to 2016 and chairman of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party. In his opening remarks, though, he said the new party would stand against "cult of the leader" politics/ In October 2014, Mahçupyan was appointed as the senior advisor to then Prime Minister Davutoglu. It was the first time in Modern Turkish history that a minority of Armenian descent was appointed to such a critical position. He technically retired from this position in March 2015. The announcement came a day after he openly acknowledged the Armenian Genocide. However he stated that his departure had nothing to do with the row. He said he retired in March due to the mandatory retirement age for civil servants, and has kept advising Davutoglu afterwards informally. Top stories The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. London’s Armenian community has been left feeling “under attack” after the city’s Genocide monument was vandalised. The United States believes there should be an international mission to provide transparency. Partner news | Turkey extends military presence in Azerbaijan The Turkish parliament has adopted a bill submitted by Recep Tayyip Erdogan to extend the mandate of Turkish troops. Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills Armenian, Saudi Foreign Minister meet in Riyadh The two commended the positive dynamics of the development of political dialogue between Armenia and Saudi Arabia Pashinyan: Azerbaijan’s proximity shouldn’t worry border residents At the same time, he said that he “does not guarantee [the security of villagers] one hundred percent”. |