Ankara to issue declaration on Armenian genocide claim

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the issue of the Armenian genocide yesterday, when he requested an independent case study by historians to look into claims of " an Armenian genocide committed by the Ottomans."   " We have already opened our archives to those who claim there was a genocide. If they are sincere, they should also open theirs. This would allow historians to work on documents on both sides." Erdogan said that Turkey was ready to face this issue. Some say that Turkey is now facing the issue under mounted pressure from the European Union, in the run up to the October 3. accession talks. Armenians claim that at least 1.5 million of their kinfolk were murdered during the last years of the Ottoman Empire. However Turkey denies these claims and have said that 300,000 Armenians and thousands of Turks died in the "Armenian uprising", during World War I.Â