Last week, following a conference in Iran titled “Iran: Victory Bridge,” reports surfaced claiming that Iranian Vice President Hamid Baqaei (or Baghaei) had recognized the Armenian Genocide.
The reports quoted Baqaei as saying, “A hundred years ago the Ottoman Empire committed genocide against a certain number of Armenians. Although the Ottoman Empire does not exist now, Armenians have demanded official apologies and restitution from Turkey.”
Turkish news agencies picked up the story, and it was followed by various commentaries and subjected to analysis in many newspapers. The Iranian Embassy in Ankara soon after released a statement saying that Baqaei’s words had been misrepresented.
On Aug. 27, the Iranian Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) published the official statement by the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization—which Baqaei heads—that said his comments were “not reflected properly and a number of media have reflected their own interpretations on relations between the Ottoman government and the Armenians during World War I.”
The statement went on to note that Baqaei had “referred [to] the case as an issue between Turkey and Armenian governments without giving any comments or analysis.”
Turkey demanded an official explanation from Tehran. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu spoke with his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, who reassured him that Iran’s position was in line with Turkey’s. However, Turkey remained unsatisfied without an explanation from Baqaei himself, according to the Hurriyet daily.
Finally, on Aug. 29, Baqaei was quoted by the Anatolia news agency as saying, “We are rejecting the news reports attributed to me in some media outlets.” He said the conference dealt with Iran’s occupation by the U.S., Russia, and Britain during World War II and with Iran’s efforts in raising the issue of damages suffered during that time. “The conference was about this issue,” he said, adding, “Today we have a very strategic, very solid and strong relationship with Turkey. We respect Turkey, which is one of the most important countries in the region.”
The conference “Iran: Victory Bridge” took place on Aug. 25, on the 70th anniversary of the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran by the Allied Powers.
Nanore Barsoumian
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and the word games continue as usual
Well beside the truth of Armenian genocide, Mr Bagai trying to tell the world that Iran’s Northern territories, where became independent after collapse of Soviet Union is part of Iran’s territories…Soviet Union and Britain illegally occupied Azerbaijan during 2-nd world war and separated Northern part from Iran’s Azerbaijan, due to Stalin ambition and dependency of Baku’s oil fields…
Anybody else besides me notice that Ankara said NOTHING when Medvedev paid the Armenian Genocide memorial an official visit? Do you know why? Turks are scared shitless of Russia’s growing presence in the Caucasus. So, they resort to picking on little guys like Iran, France, Israel, America, Sweden…
Shame on Iran’s Vice President for backing off his first statement that Armenians went thru a Genocide committed by Ottoman Turkey and now because of Turkish pressure he now claims he never made that statement. The Armenian Government must immediately sit down with Iran over this issue as well as the Armenian Diaspora should get involved.
Picture of the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Tehran, Iran. No monument goes up or stays up without government approval.
http://www.armenian-genocide.org/popup/memorials_view.html?MemImage=248