Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Tuesday called for a "new beginning" in relations between Turkey and Armenians scarred by a bitter historical dispute over mass killings during World War I. "We call on all Armenians, and invite all those who believe in Turkish-Armenian friendship to contribute to a new beginning," Davutoglu said in a statement marking the eighth anniversary of the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who campaigned for reconciliation between the two neighbours.
Armenians accuse Ottoman forces of carrying out a genocide against their forebears during World War I that left an estimated 1.5 million people dead. But modern Turkey has always vehemently resisted terming the mass killings as genocide, saying there were heavy casualties on both sides as Ottoman forces battled Russian troops for control of eastern Anatolia in 1915.