Erdogan: Turkey Can Establish Diplomatic Ties With Armenia

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan calls on Yerevan to establish friendly relations with Turkey.

“Turkey can establish friendly ties with Armenia,” he told Turkish-Armenian journalist Ara Gochunyan, Editor-in-Chief of Istanbul-based Armenian newspaper Zhamanak (Time), Hurriyet daily reports.

“Turkey does not maintain hostile relations with any country. We have never used the painful events of the past for shaping the vision of future. After crowning our liberation struggle with success, we entered into a new period, establishing friendly ties with all those countries. We can do the same with Armenia. Leaving history to scholars and historians, we can walk towards the future. I do believe it is still possible. But some in Armenian diaspora do not have the same vision which creates obstacles for the process,” Turkish premier said.

Hurriyet interpreted Mr Erdogan’s above statement as a message addressed to Armenia via the Istanbul-based newspaper.

Turkish official also spoke about the Armenian community in Istanbul.

“I follow with great appreciation to the Armenian community’s efforts aimed at promoting internal peace and development in Turkey. I view Armenian community as Turkey’s richess,” he said.

Tert.am