Turkey says Obama's comments on 1915 incidents "unacceptable"

Turkey on Saturday defined U.S. President Barack Obama's comments on the incidents of 1915 related to Armenia as "unacceptable".

"We consider some expressions in that statement and the perception of history it contains concerning the events of 1915 as unacceptable," a statement issued by Turkey's Foreign Ministry said, referring to Obama's speech on the "Armenian remembrance day" on Friday.

The statement said that nobody should forget that several hundreds of thousands of Turks also lost their lives in those days.

Armenians claim that more than 1.5 million Armenians were killed in a systematic genocide in the hands of the Ottomans during World War I before modern Turkey was born in 1923.

But Turkey insists the Armenians were victims of widespread chaos and governmental breakdown as the 600-year-old empire(Ottoman Empire) collapsed in the years before 1923.

"History can be construed and evaluated only on the basis of undisputed evidence and documentation," the statement said.

It said that common history of the Turkish and Armenian nations had to be assessed solely through impartial and scientific data, and historians must base their evaluations only on such material.

"It is with such an understanding that we support the historical dimension of the Turkish-Armenian dialogue," it said.

During his visit to Turkey on April 6, U.S. President Barack Obama said he was encouraged by the dialogues between Turkey and Armenia aimed at improving ties, promising Washington will be as constructive as possible on the improvement of their ties.

He said as Turkey and Armenia are having serious negotiations that could bear fruit quickly, "I will be as encouraging as possible," adding the world should also encourage them.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan during its conflict with Armenia over the Upper Karabakh region.

SOURCE:http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/25/content_11256410.htm

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