Azerbaijani pro-government media outlets have launched a campaign against Turkey’s special envoy for normalization with Armenia, Serdar Kilic, after he said in Yerevan that he “feels at home” in Armenia.
His remarks triggered criticism in Baku’s propaganda circles. Azerbaijani pro-government media claimed that his rhetoric contradicts the official stance of the Turkish authorities and could be perceived as a deviation from national interests, Factor.am reported, citing Azerbaijani outlet Oxu.az .
The Azerbaijani publication wrote that Kilic’s statements in Armenia were “so strange that it seems he is not a guest in Yerevan, but the host.”
“It is impossible not to be surprised by the Turkish diplomat’s statements, aside from the sense of comfort he felt in a country where his nation’s flag was burned two weeks ago. Serdar Kilic’s words show that above all he prioritizes not his own country’s interests, but those of Armenians, and does everything possible to achieve that goal.
Emphasizing that he lived among Armenians during his work in Los Angeles and Beirut, the diplomat noted that from the very beginning of the normalization process he made several proposals to his Armenian counterpart Ruben Rubinyan, and that while making those proposals he was guided by Armenian rather than Turkish interests. By this statement, he only meant that he had lived among Armenians for many years and knew them well,” the publication wrote.
It further claimed that “Kilic’s statements reflect not the position of the Turkish state, but Serdar Kilic’s personal views.”
“Serdar Kilic, who feels at home in Yerevan, should be reminded that at the center of his ‘home’ stands a huge memorial dedicated to the so-called Armenian genocide, and many participants of the summit he attended bowed before it. This memorial embodies one of the greatest defamatory campaigns against the Turkish state and people in world history,” the publication wrote, while denying the Armenian Genocide.
Similar publications about Kilic have also appeared in other Azerbaijani pro-government media outlets.
Turkey’s special representative Serdar Kilic told reporters that Armenia and Turkey have not yet discussed timelines for opening the border and added that he feels at home in Armenia.
Opposition MP Tigran Abrahamyan from the I Have Honor faction wrote on Facebook that the Turkish official declared in Yerevan that he feels at home while his country continues to keep Armenia under blockade.
