Turkish expert explores Armenia archives
Several Turkish experts have expressed willingness to visit Armenia to study archival documents related to the earlier periods of Armenian-Turkish ties.
It came after Director of the Armenian National Archive, Amatuni Virabyan, declared the archive open for all foreign experts and historians, including Turks.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Virabyan said a Turkish expert, Candan Badem, is currently studying the history of Kars in the archive. As to the Armenian Genocide issue, however, he said the expert is very neutral about the matter.
Virabyan said he occasionally sees him at international symposiums and receives invitations to visit Turkish archives, though he treats such offers with scorn. “They know we don’t have experts specialized in Ottoman studies, while everything in their archives is available in the Ottoman language, which differs from Turkish. It’s a blend of the Arabic, Persian and Turkish languages,” he said.
