BERLIN
Chancellor says Germany should contribute to
examination of mass killings in eastern Anatolia
Germany’s
Angela Merkel on Tuesday called for the deaths of Armenian and Turkish Ottomans
in 1915 to be investigated by a commission of historians.
The
chancellor said Germany should also contribute to the commission.
“The
history between Turkey and Armenia should be handled by a commission of
historians to which we should contribute,” she said at a news conference with
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Berlin. “I will continue to talk to both
Turkish side and Armenian side on this issue.”
Germany
was a wartime ally of the Ottoman Empire and also has its own experience of
historical examination into mass deaths following World War II.
Referring
to the latter, Merkel said Germany would continue to deal with the legacy of
the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were murdered under the Nazi regime.
Merkel’s
comments on the Armenian issue came after last week’s symbolic Bundestag vote
that saw lawmakers declare the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia in 1915
as genocide.
Turkey
has repeatedly called for the establishment of an international commission of
historians to resolve the dispute over the events of 1915. While it accepts
many died on both sides following an uprising within the Ottoman Armenian
population as Russian forces invaded, Ankara does not view the casualties as
genocide.
Turning
to a more recent dispute between Turkey and Armenia, Merkel said Germany would
use its current chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe to resolve the issue of occupied Karabakh.
The
enclave was taken over by Armenian secessionists as the Soviet Union broke up
in the late 1980s and is recognized as Azerbaijani territory by the
international community, including Turkey, a close ally of Azerbaijan. Despite
a 1994 peace deal, border skirmishes are a frequent occurrence.
Aliyev
said he hoped the issue would be solved according to UN resolutions recognizing
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.
He
accused Armenia of provoking Azerbaijan, demolishing the mosques and graves and
attacking civilians. “Armenia occupied Azerbaijan's territory… at the beginning
of 1991,” Aliyev said. “Karabakh is a historical part of Azerbaijan.”
Merkel
said that Germany shared Azerbaijan’s view. “The solution of the Karabakh issue
will also contribute to mending ties between Turkey and Armenia,” she said.
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