Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated that the monument of Armenian-Turkish friendship in Kars is “monstrous” and it needs to be annihilated.

In an interview with the Turkish Hurriyet,  Erdogan said that he used the word "monster" on the monument. He said that he is not aware of the significance of this monument, but to assess the monument one does not need an education of an Art critic.

He said that the area were the monument is located is being cleared since he came to power. The tomb of Seyed Hassan and a mosque were discovered. He pointed out that the height of the monument and the height of the dome of the mosque are the same and that they can not allow some kind of structure to overshadow this historical monument. “When they were building this monument, I warned the Mayor of Kars”, said the Turkish premier.

As NEWS.am reported earlier, Former Mayor of Kars Naif Alibeyoglu and the famous sculpture of the monument Mehmed Askol responded to the Turkish Premier’s statement. Naif Alibeyoglu has always stood for the opening of the Armenia-Turkey border without any preconditions and for this purpose organized a collection of signature in Kars. On his initiative, a large monument was put to represent the Armenian-Turkish friendship and peace. However, Alibeyoglu was defeated in the mayoral elections in 2009. The unfinished monument was put near the old Armenian district of Kars.

Mehmed Aksol also gave a critical response to Erdogan’s statement. “What explanation will be given to the world if the monument to humanity and peace is ruined? Erdogan will become the first prime minister, who will destroy a monument to peace.”