YEREVAN. – Russia should not permit Turkish diplomacy to mislead it, Vazgen Safaryan, Chairman of the United Progressive Communist Party of Armenia, stated at a press conference on Tuesday.

According to him, the bait by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who refused to visit Armenia this April 24 on the pretense of the centenary events of the Battle of Gallipoli, is nothing but a simple trick.

“The battles at Gallipoli took place from March 1915 to January 1916. Why was April 24 selected [by Erdogan] from these nine months [as the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli]? The question is rhetorical, and [the reason is] clear for everyone; the entire vileness of this bait is clear from the side.

“The question is whether the leaders of World War I allies England and France will realize this, and where will they go on April 24 [of this year]; Turkey [, to mark the centennial of the Battle of Gallipoli], or Armenia [, to commemorate the centenary of the Armenian Genocide]?

“This also refers to Russia. And it is worth mentioning here to Russia the bitter experience of Moscow’s trust in Kemalist Turkey during the First World War,” Safaryan specifically noted.