The initiative of the leader of National Movement (MHP) Turkish opposition party, Devlet Bahceli to pray namaz on the ruins of Ani is a demonstration of anti-Armenian and nationalistic line that the party aims to push at the elections, according to Armenian expert Anush Hovhannisyan.

“Bahceli’s Armenian roots are considered a brand of disgrace in Turkey. Turkish authorities allowed namaz in Ani to prove their tolerance,” she observed.

“By restoring several Armenian churches Turkey hopes to assume a noble posture on the threshold of Armenian Genocide 100th anniversary commemoration,” the expert told a news conference in Yerevan.