Commenting on the call of the European Parliament to Turkey to open archives to investigate the 1915 events, Erdogan said Ankara has always offered to open its archives to investigate the said events.
“If Armenia has archives that it can open, let it do so!,” said the president.
He noted that Armenia says the celebrations of the anniversary of the Canakkale battle, to be held in Turkey on Apr. 24, are a response of Ankara to the centenary of the “Armenian genocide.”
The president added that Turkey is not interested in the Armenians’ opinion in this regard.
Earlier, it was reported that the festivities in Turkey marking the anniversary of the Canakkale battle will be attended by the heads of 21 countries.
The Canakkale battle, which took place during the World War I, killed over 500,000 people, while the Turks lost 57,000 people in it. The Azerbaijani soldiers also participated in the battle.
In Turkey the Canakkale battle is also called the “gentlemen’s war.” Turkey’s officials have repeatedly said the battle was one of the bloodiest battles in the country’s history, however, the warring sides never forgot about humaneness even under the war conditions.
Previously, Erdogan invited the Armenian president to take part on Apr. 24 in the festivities honouring the 100th anniversary of the victory in the Canakkale battle.
Turkish president said this could lead to the start of the dialogue between the two sides. However, the Armenian authorities refused to participate.
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