The former senator of Istanbul, member of the opposition’s Republican People’s Party, former prosecutor Mehmet Feyat intends to build a recreation area for Armenians on his 300m2 property on the shore of Lake Van and give it to Surb Khach church in Akhtamar.

According to him, at the liturgy in Surb Khach he understood that Turks and Armenians, Kurds and Armenians do not harbor grudges against each other, Turkish Beyazgazete reports.

"Five years ago the “Vardan” hotel was supposed to open in Van, but Turkish society’s attitude made the then Governor refuse permission for the construction of the hotel," he said.

"A major headache for the Ottoman Empire was the Young Turks. The other people responsible were Hunchakyan and Dashnaktsutyun members of the Diaspora, as well as local residents who wished for the Armenians’ departure so that they could claim their land," the former prosecutor said.