ANKARA, Turkey: If Turkey and Armenia forge diplomatic ties and are seen to have good relations, other countries could well stop passing resolutions that accuse Ottoman Turks of genocide against their Armenian population during World War I, Turkey’s foreign minister said Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said in a television interview that after the Turkish president’s breakthrough visit to Armenia on Saturday, the two countries had stepped up efforts to resolve their differences.
Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed in 1915-18 in Ottoman Turkey in what is widely regarded as the first genocide of the 20th Century. About 20 parliaments have passed resolutions to this effect. Turkey denies any genocide, saying the death toll has been inflated and the dead were victims of civil war and unrest.
Turkey:Armenia ties could end genocide resolutions – International Herald Tribune.