ISTANBUL — The Turkish Foreign Ministry has “mistakenly” published a picture of Tsitsernakaberd – the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan – on an official day planner, prepared to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Çanakkale in World War I, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.
A picture of the monument in Yerevan is included on the April page of the planner.
A Foreign Ministry official told the Hurriyet Daily News that the picture had been “accidentally included with other photographs.”
An investigation has been launched into the mistake and the individual responsible will be punished, the official said, adding that most of the day planners have yet to be distributed.
The official strongly refuted claims that the picture is part of a new “Armenian opening” on the part of Ankara, stressing that elements of any opening on dialogue with Armenians are delivered either by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.