EN
21 July 2004 - 13:50 AMT

RECEP ERDOGAN: ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS WILL NOT IMPROVE IF ARMENIANS GO ON PRESSING FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION

Improvement of Armenian-Turkish relations is impossible in case Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora do not stop pressing for the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Erdogan stated in Paris, Turkish media reported. The Turkish Premier, who is paying a visit to France at the moment, noted that the Genocide issue being on the agenda does not do any good to Armenia. “If Armenians refrain from pursuing the policy of discrediting Turkey, the Armenian-Turkish border might be opened”, Erdogan said.