Turkey asks China to clarify aid packages to Armenia

ANKARA

Turkey asked China for clarification about aid packages sent to Armenia that bore a reference to Agri Mountain in eastern Turkey in English that borders Armenia, said Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said China's Ambassador to Ankara Deng Li and Beijing’s Foreign Ministry have shown efforts to resolve the issue.

"Ambassador Deng said their aid packages to Armenia was prepared by a local authority and were sent to Yerevan,” said Aksoy. “The aforementioned authority only wrote Chinese scripts on the packs, and there are no references to Agri Mountain in them. The references, which were written in English, were added later."

Deng is currently investigating the situation and the Turkey will be informed of results. "With this incident, [Deng] said he has full respect for Turkey's sovereignty and unity of land," Aksoy added.

A dispute between Turkey and Armenia's dates to Turkey's position on the events of 1915, which saw the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.

Turkey objects to the presentation of the incidents as "genocide" but describes the 1915 events as a tragedy in which both sides suffered casualties.

Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of Turkish and Armenians historians, plus international experts, to examine the issue.

*Writing by Firdevs Bulut