ANKARTurkey's solution process will continue and has the support of the public, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus has said.
Kurtulmus made the remarks in an exclusive interview with The Anadolu Agency's Editors' Desk at its headquarters in Ankara on Wednesday, days after four Turkish troops were wounded in Turkey’s eastern Agri province in a PKK terrorist attack.
Kurtulmus said: "The success of the solution process will be Turkey's success. The supporters of the solution process are people.
"Turkey has lost $1.2 billion through 30 years of terror."
Kurtulmus said the success of the process would be a great example to other countries including Ukraine and Yemen.
The Turkish government launched the "solution process" initiative with the aim of bringing an end to the decades-long conflict with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or the PKK, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people.
- 'Unity and brotherhood'
Turkish authorities has repeatedly said the process was being carried out with the full support of the Turkish community and that the government’s main goal was to safeguard Turkey’s national unity, brotherhood of its citizens, and comfort and peace in the homeland.
Kurtulmus said there were some factions who wanted to axe the process and there could be some "provocations" before Turkey's general elections on June 7, but he added "A u-turn can never be accepted."
Government officials say Saturday's attack was a provocation instigated by PKK members.
Selahattin Demirtas, the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party co-chair, has claimed the incident was not spontaneous but a pre-planned and rehearsed fake set-up which was carried out to discredit his party.
Regarding the chances of the HDP passing the 10 percent election threshold, Kurtulmus said: "It would not be turmoil for the HDP not to pass the election threshold. It is not an factor that would damage the solution process.
"I believe that a political party failing to cross the election threshold, either the HDP of any other party, would not conform with democracy."
Political parties need to pass 10 percent election threshold to enter parliament in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
- Pope's remarks on 1915 events
Regarding Pope Francis's statement calling the 1915 incidents involving Armenians a "genocide" Sunday, Kurtulmus said: "We invite everyone including the Pope to be clear and sincere. We do not have any complex."
"His words are inappropriate and constitute political manipulation," he added.
Kurtulmus said the pontiff should first use its religious identity to ensure peace.
He also said that historical documents about the events were open to all for analysis. "Whoever wants to see the facts can come to Turkey and consult its archives," he added.
Pope Francis said Sunday that "the first 'genocide' of the 20th century struck Armenians," a statement which triggered criticism from Turkey and led to Ankara recalling its ambassador in the Vatican and also summoning Vatican's envoy in the Turkish capital.
The 1915 events took place during World War I when a portion of the Armenian population living in the Ottoman Empire sided with the invading Russians and revolted against the empire.
The Ottoman Empire relocated Armenians in eastern Anatolia following the revolts and there were Armenian casualties during the relocation process.
Armenia has demanded an apology and compensation, while Turkey has officially refuted Armenian allegations over the incidents saying that, although Armenians died during the relocations, many Turks also lost their lives in attacks carried out by Armenian gangs in Anatolia.
- Syrian refugees in Turkey
"Around 2 million people mostly Syrians, including a number of Iraqis, were given biometric IDs," said Kurtulmus.
The Syrian conflict, entering its fifth year, has created an acute refugee crisis, with as many as 3.8 million Syrian refugees currently registered in neighboring Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.
"Nearly 300,000 Syrians are living in the refugee camps and 1.7 million people are living in cities," Kurtulmus added.
"We thought that the refugees would be temporary, but now it seems that even if the war comes to an end, this will continue for a long time. We guess a substantial part of these people will stay in Turkey."
Kurtulmus said Turkey spent $5.3 billion on Syrian refugees since 2011.
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