Turkey's EU minister says it is illogical to call 1915 events a genocide

ANKARA (A.A) - Turkey's European Union (EU) minister and chief negotiator said on Saturday that it was illogical to call the 1915 events a genocide. Egemen Bagis said the fact that some EU members had to pass a series of laws that restrict freedom of speech was illogical, this was contrary to the principles of the EU constitution that the members had adopted. "I said in Zurich, I repeat here, and I will repeat elsewhere, that with our information, according to our records and our sources, it makes no sense… it’s illogical to call the 1915 events a genocide," Bagis told an interview with the Euronews TV channel. Bagis said Turkey challenged Armenia and other countries to open their archives, that Turkey created an independent commission in which they found Armenian historians, Russian, Turkish, European and American historians. "That all these countries open their archives so that we can analyse what really happened in 1915. Thereafter we can assess the situation. This is an execution without trial. Calling the 1915 events a genocide based solely on information we have right now, comes from a lobby that nurtures malicious hatred. We refuse to enter into their games," he said.  Asked if it could be spread throughout the EU, Bagis said, "this is against the principles of the EU. For this to be possible, all 27 EU members should take a unanimous decision. It's unlikely that all 27 EU countries decide this at the same time." On Turkish-EU relations, Bagis said Europe must stop thinking that the Turks would emigrate to Europe, because in recent year's every one had seen that more Europeans were moving to Turkey than vice versa.  Bagis said Turkey's position was not driven by economic interests, Turkey never saw the EU in that way. "For us, Europe is the most extensive project for peace in all of human history. When we look at the member countries of the European Union, we find that peoples who have waged war for centuries now live in peace within the EU," he said. Bagis said for that peaceful project to become more worldwide Turkey should be integrated into it, and due to its geographical location, Turkey served as a bridge between countries and could give that project an international dimension.  "Despite the economic difficulties experienced by the EU, we must not forget that the EU still has the highest wealth per capita. Therefore the EU model is one of the best to apply when thinking of our own hopes for the future," he said.  Asked if Turkey was going to turn towards other horizons, Bagis said as always Turkey continued to be a bridge between East and West, between Islam and Christianity. "In terms of energy resources it also serves as a bridge and manages supply and demand. This bridge, which extends from north to south, and east to west gets stronger every day. This shouldn't be a source of disagreement," the minister said. On economic crisis, Bagis said, "as Turkey has also gone through very difficult times, we can say that the EU will emerge from this crisis even more stable and fortified. Not so long ago, there was a period of 12-13 years in which Turkey saw interest rates raise by 8000 percent in a single night." "The first thing that the EU should do is take away the visa that applies to Turkish citizens. It's unfair, illogical, and illegitimate. Turks should be able to travel freely in EU member countries. This would mean more tourists and therefore more money spent. They’ll do business. Turkish citizens now have the opportunity to travel without visas in 65 countries. We are part of the customs union, 50 percent of our foreign trade is with the EU, 60 percent of tourists visiting Turkey come from the EU. Despite all this, it is unfortunate that we can not we travel freely in EU countries," he said. Bagis said, "the world of business has grown significantly. Turkey is currently the sixth largest economy in Europe. Figures from the OECD predict that by 2050 Turkey will be the second largest economy, and until 2020 Turkey will continue to have the strongest economic growth in Europe. To build walls and close doors to such potential does not make sense. We must stop thinking that the Turks will emigrate to Europe, because in recent years we’ve seen that more Europeans are moving to Turkey than vice versa." Asked about criticism about slowdown in reforms, Bagis said, "the AK (Justice & Development) Party is not tired of making reforms. The AK party is historically the government which has made ​​the most reforms. Just look what we have done recently." On constitutional initiatives, Bagis said they were creating a commission with an equal number of representatives that reflected the four parties represented in parliament.  "Right now it is this committee which is responsible for the new constitution. NGOs, academics and journalists also support the work of the commission. Once all this information is collected the commission will prepare a civil constitution which I hope will unite all citizens," he said.  Commenting on developments in Syria, Bagis said, "today at a press conference the President of the European Parliament himself said that Turkey is the country that made ​​the most courageous statements on this issue. We would also like to see European countries adopt a firmer stance." "On one night alone 300 people were killed. The entire international community must tell them to stop. The international community should exert greater pressure on China and Russia who are permanent members of the Security Council of the United Nations," the minister said. "Tens of thousands of people have already been welcomed into Turkey. All our resources have been deployed… Concerning our plans for the future, I'm not ready to share that on camera, I'll save it for diplomacy behind the scenes," Bagis also said.