Details added (first version posted on 13:11)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 22
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Turkey has nothing to apologize to the Armenians for, said the Turkish deputy prime minister, Yalcin Akdogan, TRT Haber news channel reported Apr. 22.
He said there hasn't been any "Armenian genocide" in Turkey's history.
The deputy prime minister noted that Turkey has repeatedly stated that Ankara stands ready to open archives to investigate the 1915 events, but each time Armenia ignores this offer.
"Turkish authorities have several times stretched out the hand of friendship towards Armenia, but that country has always rejected it," said Akdogan.
Commenting on the possibility of normalizing the relations between Turkey and Armenia, the deputy prime minister noted that without the liberation of Azerbaijani lands from Armenian occupation this issue is out of the question.
Previously, Turkish authorities have repeatedly made gestures to Armenia. Recep Tayyip Erdogan's message to the Armenian people on April 24, 2014 is one of such recent gestures.
Erdogan said in that message that the events of 1915 were a difficult time not only for Armenians, but also for Arabs, Kurds and representatives of other nations living in the country.
Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that Turkey's predecessor, the Ottoman Empire allegedly carried out "genocide" against the Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915. Turkey in turn has always denied "the genocide" took place.
While strengthening the efforts to promote the "genocide" in the world, Armenians have achieved its recognition by the parliaments of some countries.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
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