November 14, 2008 - 17:06 AMT
Shahan Kandakharyan: it's Turkish leaders who are engaged in "cheap policy"
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Edrogan's statement that the Armenian Diaspora is engaged in "cheap political lobbying" makes one think, Shahan Kandakharyan, editor-in-chief of Beirut-based Azdak newspaper told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

"The Turkish government is seriously concerned over the activities of the Armenian lobby in the U.S. as well as over President-elect Barack Obama's pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Actually, it's conditioned by the possibility of passing H.Res.106 in Congress next year," he said.

"The U.S.-Turkey relations do not have a brilliant perspective, which are mostly based on misinformation as regards the Armenian issue. So, it's Turkish leaders who are engaged in "cheap policy," Kandakharyan said.

Commenting on Turkish government's reaction regarding U.S. president-elect Barack Obama and his team's stand on the Armenian Genocide, Erdogan said the campaign carried out by the Armenian Diaspora in the United States is not fair.

"I hope the new U.S. administration would take into account Turkey's efforts. It is not fair to make a judgment upon such cheap political lobbying," Erdogan told a conference in Columbia University in New York.