The U.S. President, as in the previous years, has issued a written Statement on 24 April, concerning unfounded Armenian allegations.

It is obviously not possible for us to share some of the assessments contained in the Statement.

Armenian allegations, which are devoid of historical, scientific and legal grounds, are an issue about which the Turkish people is very sensitive.

The position of our Government is based on the historical and legal facts and reflects an ethical stance. Writing and interpreting history should only be left to historians. The disputed periods of history can only be assessed through the examination of relevant archived documents and historical records by competent experts using unbiased, uncensored, impartial and scientific methods.

Turkey, on account of this policy and good will, has taken a historic step on 10 April 2005 and proposed to Armenia the establishment of a Joint Commission of History, consisting of historians and experts from both countries to study the events of 1915 in their historical context and to share their findings with the international public. This proposal which is a breakthrough in the history of the Republic is open also to third parties. Turkey has opened to researchers all Her archives relevant the period concerned, for historical truth to be freely investigated.

President Bush, in his statement, emphasizes that a sincere and open examination of the events that took place during the late period of the Ottoman Empire will play an essential role in the normalization process of the relations between Turkey and Armenia. We share the views of President Bush to this end and we expect from the US President and the Administration to continue to encourage Armenia to give a positive response to our historic proposal.