Turkish top official: Armenia must draw conclusion from Turkish PM's statements

Armenia should draw conclusion from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statement on eviction of illegally living 100,000Armenians from the country, Erdogan's Adviser on Eurasia Geybulla Ramazanoglu thinks.

"Armenia and the Armenian lobby should be inferred from Erdogan's statements," he said.

Erdogan warned of possible expulsion of 100,000 Armenians illegally living in Turkey, in an interview to the British BBC television and radio company. It was the minister's response to the question asked about Ankara's reaction to adoption of a resolution recognizing the so-called "Armenian genocide" by the several countries' parliaments. Erdogan said nearly 170,000 Armenians lived in Turkey currently. "70,000 of these people are our citizens and others are living in Turkey illegally," he said later in BBC interview. "Tomorrow, if necessary, I will say that 100,000 to leave our country. I'll do this because they are not our citizens and I am not obliged to keep them in our country."

Replying to another question, Erdogan said Armenia should be rescued from the diaspora's control.

With such a statement, Erdogan wants to show the world and the Armenian lobby that Turkey has great capacity to deal with the Armenians. "It is no secret that Armenia continues its pressure on Ankara over its so-called" Armenian genocide "and many other means. Armenia should understand that Turkey may also, as it, to resort to different levers of pressure," Ramazanoglu said.

However, the Armenian lobby is unlikely to make concession in connection with Erdogan's statement. "Welfare of the Armenians has never been relevant for the Armenian lobby and the lobby has never worked in the interests of Armenia," he added.

Regarding how Erdogan's statement will influence the future of the Armenian-Turkish relations, Ramazanoglu said that the ongoing negotiations "at an impasse" and while Armenia does not back down from its current position with regard to Turkey and Azerbaijan, there will not be any shift in these negotiations.


/Trend News/