Turkey Wants Armenia's Friendship

There is no question that this "friendliness" is politcally motivated, as Hrant Dink's death has brought Turkey much criticism. Regardless, here's what one didn't expect to hear:

"Turkey aspires to enjoy friendly ties with all of its neighbors on the basis of mutual trust and respect and we want to establish ties with Armenia as well." [said Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül]

But he noted that Armenia should not come up with unfair demands from Turkey – such as the recognition by Ankara of the alleged genocide of Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Empire – in return for normalization of bilateral ties. On genocide claims, Gül repeated the Turkish government's proposal to set up a joint commission of Turkish and Armenian academics to study allegations.

Translation: "We need you to show the world - and the EU - that we're decent people who love all, whether Armenian, Greek, Kurd, or otherwise. Turkey would love to be your friend, if only you revise your history to our acceptable standards using our prepared documents. Deal?"

No deal without precondition. Of course, Armenia disagrees.

Source: Turkish Daily News