Turkish Foreign Ministry slams Aznavour's comments on Erdoğan

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

nch singer Charles Aznavour performs as part of Spring of Culture 2013 in Manama March 15. REUTERS photo

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has strongly refuted the comments on Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made by famous French singer of Armenian origin, Charles Aznavour.

Aznavour, who also serves as Armenia's ambassador to Switzerland, had said during a program broadcasted on Swiss television that Erdoğan had said in the past that "he hated Armenians and Greeks."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Levent Gümrükçü said in a written statement that they did not understand where Azanvour's claim arose from. "We strongly refute this unfounded and meaningless accusation. We have insistingly emphasized that it is wrong to revive animosity from history," the statement read.

The Foreign Ministry also added that they welcomed Aznavour's proposals for the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey. "Even though we don't agree with some of his diagnosis, we believe that the right method to create a common future passes through dialogue and empathy and works on memory," the Foreign Ministry added.