VIENNA
Describing the events of 1915 as "genocide" does not agree with international law or logic, said Ambassador Tacan Ildem, Turkey's Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, or OSCE, on Wednesday.
"Turkey is ready for academic research into the 1915 events, and has called for a joint history commission," Ildem said.
His remarks came after Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan addressed a special meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council.
Ildem pointed to the fact that "the tragic outcomes of the WWI" is still a matter of debate today between Turks and Armenians, who he said have lived in peace for hundreds of years.
"The reason is the difference between individual narratives and national narratives," he said.
The Turkish government has repeatedly called on historians to study Ottoman archives pertaining to the era in order to uncover what actually happened between the Ottoman government and its Armenian citizens.
The debate on “genocide” and the differing opinions between the present day Turkish government and the Armenian diaspora, along with the current administration in Yerevan, still generates political tension between Turks and Armenians.
Turkey's official position against the “genocide” allegations is that they acknowledge that the past experiences were a great tragedy and that both parties suffered heavy casualties, including hundreds of Muslim Turks. Turkey agrees that there were certainly Armenian casualties during World War I, but that it is impossible to define these incidents as “genocide.”
