Armenia

?Prime Minister Erdo?an?s statement of condolence to the Armenians was a milestone in Turkey?s history.?

This was the first sentence of my column in daily Hürriyet on April 26 last year.

MOSCOW- Serbian Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic and his Armenian counterpart Seyran Ohanyan said on Friday that there is potential for intensifying cooperation in military education and military medicine.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz told Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu on April 17 he "understands" Ankara's reaction to a vote calling the 1915 mass killing of Armenians a genocide, sources in the prime minister's office said. 

Syrian singer Lena Chamamyan, one of the most popular performers in the Middle East, will take the stage in Istanbul as part of the 6th Avea concerts. 

The young singer, who is of Armenian descent, blends jazz and traditional Armenian music, and will perform at the Istanbul Congress Center on May 15. 

The European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on Wednesday, which calls on Turkey to recognise the Armenian genocide.

The Parliament urged Armenia and Turkey to use the centenary of the Armenian genocide to renew diplomatic relations, open the border and improve their relations.

Pope Francis? labeling of the mass killings of the Ottoman Armenians as ?the first genocide of the 20th century? will only accelerate the reopening of Hagia Sophia to Muslim worship, the top Islamic official in Ankara has suggested.

What happened to the Armenians in 1915, just as the First World War was heating up, is for historians to research and reveal. Much has already been revealed and the general outline of the story is known.

There is clearly more to be researched, though, since no historical narrative is constant and fixed.

The European Parliament on April 15 urged Turkey to use the centenary of Ottoman-era massacres to "recognise the Armenian genocide" and help promote reconciliation between the two peoples, infuriating Ankara.
 

Turkey has no reason to be defensive in the face of any motion to recognize the mass killing of Ottoman Armenians in World War I as ?genocide,? as it will never accept such ?a crime and sin,? President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has said.

As a long-time diplomatic correspondent, I have closely followed Turkey?s diplomatic struggle against world-wide efforts for the recognition of the Armenian genocide. An overall analysis would openly put that Turkey failed in its efforts to take an efficient stand against very well-orchestrated campaigns of the Armenian diaspora and the state of Armenia.