Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis replied to one of the Turkish papers, commenting on hiring Armenian for a key public post. Turkish Hurriyet quotes Bagis as saying, “We will implement the project with the efforts of young, old, rich and poor, Armenians, Jewish and Muslims. A 340-member delegation should be formed, which is already approved by Turkish parliament. We have conducted admission exams and 118 citizens already took a written test. While recruiting people, we do not pay attention to their ethnic, religious or political views. All our citizens are equal.”

As NEWS.am reported previously, Turkey finally decided to hire Turkish citizen of Armenian origin Leo Suren Alepli for a key public post. For the first time a decision was made to employ Armenian as an expert in EU General Secretariat under State Minister of EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis. Out of 115 contenders, Suren should get through the appropriate exams. Final decision depends on National Security Service of Turkey (MIT). After passing all stages, Suren will hold the post in delegation of negotiations for EU membership.