Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul discredited U.S. congressmen’s knowledge of geography.

Speaking at the third conference of Turkish Businessmen and Manufacturers Confederation, Erdogan said: “What U.S. congressmen voted for the Armenian Genocide resolution can locate Armenia on global map? At the World War I each family residing on that territory suffered losses. Certainly we did not and will not forget that bereavement, but cannot plan for the future based on that. Great powers should draw lessons from the past meanwhile looking to the future. Tell me, who benefited from voting for Armenian Genocide in the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs – U.S. or Armenia?”

Thereupon, Erdogan compared discussions in the Committee with comedy or knockabout, pillorying voting in the Congress. Then he turned nasty to U.S. recalling Turkey is a large country and those not realizing this will feel it shortly. “I am clear, the decision by Committee on Foreign Affairs will not hurt Turkey, it’s not us who will lose, but those shortsighted,” he concluded.

S.T.