Turkey encouraging US officials to act 'fairly' ahead of April 24

Turkey expects the U.S. administration to act in a fair and impartial manner in the run-up to April 24, on which Armenians around the world commemorate the "Armenian genocide," a Turkish Foreign Ministry official has said.

"We are telling the U.S. authorities that it would be problematic to deliver a decision on a controversial international conflict covering a period in history [that has been the center of much debate]," Selçuk Ünal, ministry spokesperson told reporters Thursday.

U.S. President Barack Obama, who as a candidate vowed to use the term genocide to describe the Ottoman mass slaughter of Armenians nearly a century ago, declined to do so in 2010 as he marked the anniversary of the start of the killings.

Meanwhile, the ministry contacted Switzerland following the Alpine country’s decision to erect an "Armenian genocide monument" in Geneva’s city center, Ünal said. Ankara launched similar diplomatic initiative following an "Armenian genocide" movie in Iran.

"Armin Wegner, the Armenian Genocide Photographer" documentary by Armenian film director Tigran Khzmalyan will be screened in Tehran on April 24. Iranian deputies are expected to attend the film exhibition together with representatives of the Armenian community.

Turkey has contacted the Iranian administration over the movie screening, Ünal said. "We will monitor this issue," he added.

Armenians claim up to 1.5 million Armenians were systematically killed in 1915 under the rule of the Ottoman Empire; the community marks the event every year on April 24.


/Hurriyet Daily News/