Turkish Minister urges Armenia to boost ties, “avoid mention of past”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey's EU Minister Volkan Bozkır said that Turkey did its share to promote relations with Armenia and that everyone needs to live together by avoiding the mention of what happened in the past, Daily Sabah reported.

Underscoring the significance of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's letter on April 24, Bozkır said, "With this letter, we showed that we are turning over a new leaf to heartbreaking events and offer a hand of peace. If [our] counterpart accepts this hand, we may open a new page. It is impossible to walk [together toward] the future of the world with hatred and by killing each other."

In the statement, Erdoğan said, "[he] wishes Armenian people who lost their lives under the conditions of the beginning of the 20th century to rest in peace" and he "sends [his] condolences to their grandchildren […] Having experienced events with inhumane consequences such as relocation, during World War I, should not prevent Turks and Armenians from establishing compassion and mutually humane attitudes toward one another."

On October 10, 2009, Armenia and Turkey signed two protocols aimed at normalizing relations.

Foreign ministers Edward Nalbandian and Ahmet Davutoglu, inked protocols committing to the establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of their borders.

But since the signing ceremony, senior officials in Turkey have sought to link ratification of the protocols with progress in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement.

Yerevan responded by saying the protocols contained no conditions regarding that issue and that Ankara should, therefore, proceed with the ratification of the agreements unconditionally.

The diplomatic bickering eventually led to Armenian President Sargsyan suspending the ratification process in the Armenian parliament on April 22, 2010.