Turkey’s prime minister said on Tuesday that Armenia should be saved from diaspora’s control, Anadolu Agency reported.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with his British counterpart Gordon Brown in London. Following the gathering, the two officials held a joint press conference and replied to questions of reporters.
Upon a question on his recent remarks in an interview regarding the status of illegal Armenian migrants in Turkey, Erdogan said nearly 170,000 Armenians lived in Turkey currently.
“70,000 of these people are our citizens and others are living in Turkey illegally,” Erdogan said.
“We will not decide on such matter immediately. These people have been living in our country for more than 10 years. However, if developments continue like this, we will definitely make an assessment and take the necessary steps,” he said.
“Tomorrow, if necessary, I will say that 100,000 to leave our country. I’ll do this because they are not our citizens and I am not obliged to keep them in our country”, – said Erdogan later in BBC interview.
Replying to another question, Erdogan said Armenia should be rescued from the diaspora’s control.
“At this point, the Minsk Group has an important duty. It should fulfill such task. Once it is fulfilled, all the problems will naturally vanish and there will not be any problems between Turkey and Armenia, or between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” he said.
Trend
