ArmInfo.The distortion of history for the sake of opportunistic political interests is unacceptable. This statement was made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the American Religious Center in Maryland.
At the same time, the Turkish leader strongly condemned the resolution of the US House of Representatives on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman state.
"Attempts to rewrite history for political purposes will not affect Turkey's position in any way. Ankara previously showed goodwill by inviting Yerevan to open all archives for historians, archaeologists and politicians. We are ready to include third-country experts in the joint commission, which will ultimately put an end to this question, "said Erdogan, quoted by Anadola.
At the same time, the Turkish President noted that the archives of the Turkish General Staff alone contain more than a million documents dated from the last years of the Ottoman state's existence, forgetting to indicate that the Museum and Institute of the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan have enough documentary evidence of the atrocities of the Young Turks in those years and which do not need in declassification, as available to any visitor to the museum.
"We showed a clear political will, but Armenia and the Armenian diaspora refused to open their archives. Why? Because they are well aware that the commission will not come to a conclusion that suits them," the Turkish leader assured, for some reason so confident that what conclusion will historians come to in cases of the creation of a joint commission, again ignoring the fact that the fact of the Armenian Genocide has already been recognized by several dozen states, international organizations, individual states, cities and regions on different continents.
Erdogan noted that only the conclusion of a joint commission can become the basis for estimates and judgments. "Any other steps are perceived by Ankara as politically motivated and biased, and will be ignored by Turkey," the president said, and in order to be more convincing, Erdogan went further, calling the Armenians nomads, and Armenia a young state, created only in 1991. , with such images, apparently trying to justify the expansion of the entire territory of Western Armenia (now East Turkey - ed.). "Until this period, Armenians moved from one place to another. On the territory of Turkey, Armenians also constantly changed their areas of residence. Then a decision was made on forced relocation. Today, there are about 100 thousand Armenians in Turkey, 60 thousand of whom are Turkish citizens, the rest are migrant workers" - stated the president.
According to Erdogan, the Turkish authorities do not deport tens of thousands of illegal workers from Armenia, speaking from the position of humanism. "We could return 40,000 citizens of this country to Armenia, but we don't do it. This is an indicator of the humanity of the Turkish people! However, Yerevan does not want to see this. Armenia has not approved the Turkish-Armenian protocols of 2009, and the rich Armenian diaspora continues to spread lies about Turkey, "the Turkish president did not calm down. He did not bypass the resolution of the House of Representatives of the US Congress, calling it scandalous and claiming that it was adopted under the influence of the Armenian lobby and anti-Turkish circles, including supporters of the "terrorist organization" Fetullah Gulen. "Unfortunately, they are trying to use the theme of the events of 1915 as a kind of political revenge. The text of the resolution has nothing to do with the concept of historical realities. Sooner or later, the authors and supporters of such documents realize that such steps cannot affect Ankara's position," summed up Erdogan.