PM cancels Argentina visit over Armenian interference

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled the Argentina leg of his Latin American tour to protest the cancellation of an event honoring the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, under pressure from the Armenian diaspora. Erdogan traveled to the Chilean capital of Santiago from Brazil, skipping a planned two-day visit to Argentina. “The reason for the cancellation of the Argentina visit is the cancellation of written permission given earlier by the Ministry of Environment and Public Space of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires for an Ataturk Monument that was to be inaugurated at the Jorge Newbery Park, following attempts by Armenian circles who are hostile to Turkey,” a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said yesterday. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Third Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations, held in Rio de Janerio, told his Argentinean counterpart, Jorge Taiana, that the Argentinean government should fulfill the promise made to Turkey concerning the unveiling of the memorial, the statement said.