Archbishop Aram Atesyan, General Vicar of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, paid a visit to the Turkish Prime Minister’s Office and met with PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Following his talk with Erdogan on Thursday, Archbishop Atesyan told reporters that they cannot fail to notice that Turkey’s PM has condoled with the Armenians for the first time, Milliyet daily of Turkey reported.

“We don’t want for this branch of peace to dry. We want for it to blossom and give crop. Everyone’s assistance is needed for this crop.

“The PM’s message has won the approval of a large part of the Armenian community [in Turkey]. Let’s join forces and assume a role for the building of a bridge for peace,” Archbishop Aram Atesyan said.        

He noted, however, that there is a putrid carcass whose stench gets in the way the two peoples. 

For the first time in Turkey’s history, and ahead of the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan condoled with the relatives of the victims of the Genocide in 1915. His respective statement, however, did not deviate from Turkey’s official policy of Genocide denial.