Response of Armenia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Proposal to Name Turkish Checkpoint After Talat

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia has responded to a legislative proposal presented in the Turkish Parliament to name the Armenia-Turkey border checkpoint after Mehmed Talat Pasha, one of the organizers of the Armenian Genocide. Sputnik Armenia has sent an official inquiry in the name of the Armenian Prime Minister to clarify Yerevan's position on this matter, specifically whether Armenia would agree to this renaming if the border is opened, and what steps the government plans to take.

The inquiry has been redirected to the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has provided a response. "In the process of normalizing relations with Turkey, the Republic of Armenia takes into account the official positions and decisions of the government of the Republic of Turkey," the response states.

It was previously reported that the relevant legislative proposal was presented to the Turkish Grand National Assembly by Musavat Dervishoglu, leader of the nationalist İYİ (Good Party), with the support of 28 members of that party. It is worth noting that Talat Pasha was one of the main architects of the Armenian Genocide. He was shot dead on March 15, 1921, in Berlin by Armenian national liberation movement figure Soghomon Tehlirian. In the German court, Tehlirian stated, "I killed a man, but I am not a murderer." The German court acquitted Tehlirian.