First time in the Turkish republic history, an Armenian is appointed to the key post. According to Turkish Hurriyet, citizen of Armenian origin Leo Suren Alepli passed the final exam.

After overcoming all obstacles, Alepi was appointed as an expert in a working group on Turkey’s membership to EU and included in the delegation of 42 people.

NEWS.am recalls that earlier 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.”

A.G.