Turkish Politician Denies in Turkey What He Said in Armenia

Turkish Liberal Democratic Party Leader Cem Toker has denied media reports that he visited the Genocide Memorial Tsitsernakaberd during his recent visit to Yerevan and placed flowers in remembrance of Armenian Genocide victims.

While talking to local Turkish daily Hurriyet, Toker said that not the Armenian, but the Russian media sources are to blame for disseminating those reports.

“I have paid several visits to Armenia with an aim to support the normalization process of Armenian-Turkish relations. I have not spoken about the issue of Genocide and I have tried to substantiate the necessity of engaging in a dialogue. I have informed President Abdullah Gül about the details of my visits. I have not made any comments which could contradict the official policy pursued by our country. I have not ackowledged the accusations over the Genocide during my visits, nor have I placed a wreath on the Genocide memorial. If it were a reality, first of all Armenian media would have reported it before Russian media. But the sources of such news are not Armenian media outlets, but Russian ones,” said Toker.

Earlier, at a March 23 press conference, Toker had stated that he had visited the Genocide Memorial, though he did not mention that he had place a wreath there.

“Horrible atrocities took place; however, I don’t know whether they should be called genocide or not. I don’t like history and for that reason, I haven’t really delved [into the issue],” Toker had said earlier, when asked whether he accepts that a genocide took place in 1915.