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RUSSIAN BORDER GUARD SHOT AT TURKISH SHEPHERD WHO CROSSED INTO ARMENIAN BORDER
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Aug 2 2013
ANKARA
The 35-year-old shepherd, Mustafa Ulker, crossed over to the Armenian
side of the border to retrieve a lost sheep and was shot dead. AA photo
The 35-year-old shepherd, Mustafa Ulker, crossed over to the Armenian
side of the border to retrieve a lost sheep and was shot dead. AA photo
A Turkish shepherd who crossed the border into Armenia opened fire at
Russian frontier guards, who responded by returning the fire, Sergey
Grechin, from the Russian Border Department of the Federal Security
Service, has said, according to the Russian Itar Tass news agency.
"It was a Russian border guard unit that was involved in the incident,"
a senior official in the Armenian Foreign Ministry confirmed, along
with a second source in the Armenian Defense Ministry.
Russian troops protect Armenia's borders with Turkey and Iran, in
compliance with the agreement concluded between Moscow and Yerevan
in 1992.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry had sent a diplomatic note to Yerevan
condemning Armenia for using "disproportionate force" after the
incident.
The note, sent through Turkey's embassy in Tbilisi as Ankara has no
diplomatic ties with Armenia, explained how and why the Turkish
national had illegally crossed into Armenia, and demanded an
explanation for why "disproportionate force" was used to kill him.
The 35-year-old shepherd, Mustafa Ulker, crossed over to the Armenian
side of the border to retrieve a lost sheep and was shot dead by
Armenian soldiers patrolling the border, Kars Governor Eyup Tepe said
on Aug. 1.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity
with Azerbaijan, after Armenia occupied Azerbaijani lands in the
Nagorno-Karabakh War.
"We strongly condemn the shooting of an innocent citizen for a simple
border infringement apparently made very innocently," the Turkish
Foreign Ministry said in its statement on Aug. 1. It also called
on Armenia to act with restraint to avoid another tragic incident
similar to the death of the shepherd.
Armenia used disproportionate force by killing an unarmed civilian
while ignoring the fact that such a crossing did not pose any threat
to the national security of the country, said the statement.
The ministry statement also said that all necessary diplomatic steps
would be taken, and the incident yet again highlighted the need for
common sense in Armenia's relations with neighbors for normalization
and sustainable peace in the volatile region.
"This sort of development shows the need for a complete, sustainable
and comprehensive normalization process in the South Caucasus region,"
the statement read.
August/02/2013
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/russian-border-guard-shot-at-turkish-shepherd-who-crossed-into-armenian-border-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=51923&NewsCatID=355
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Aug 2 2013
ANKARA
The 35-year-old shepherd, Mustafa Ulker, crossed over to the Armenian
side of the border to retrieve a lost sheep and was shot dead. AA photo
The 35-year-old shepherd, Mustafa Ulker, crossed over to the Armenian
side of the border to retrieve a lost sheep and was shot dead. AA photo
A Turkish shepherd who crossed the border into Armenia opened fire at
Russian frontier guards, who responded by returning the fire, Sergey
Grechin, from the Russian Border Department of the Federal Security
Service, has said, according to the Russian Itar Tass news agency.
"It was a Russian border guard unit that was involved in the incident,"
a senior official in the Armenian Foreign Ministry confirmed, along
with a second source in the Armenian Defense Ministry.
Russian troops protect Armenia's borders with Turkey and Iran, in
compliance with the agreement concluded between Moscow and Yerevan
in 1992.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry had sent a diplomatic note to Yerevan
condemning Armenia for using "disproportionate force" after the
incident.
The note, sent through Turkey's embassy in Tbilisi as Ankara has no
diplomatic ties with Armenia, explained how and why the Turkish
national had illegally crossed into Armenia, and demanded an
explanation for why "disproportionate force" was used to kill him.
The 35-year-old shepherd, Mustafa Ulker, crossed over to the Armenian
side of the border to retrieve a lost sheep and was shot dead by
Armenian soldiers patrolling the border, Kars Governor Eyup Tepe said
on Aug. 1.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity
with Azerbaijan, after Armenia occupied Azerbaijani lands in the
Nagorno-Karabakh War.
"We strongly condemn the shooting of an innocent citizen for a simple
border infringement apparently made very innocently," the Turkish
Foreign Ministry said in its statement on Aug. 1. It also called
on Armenia to act with restraint to avoid another tragic incident
similar to the death of the shepherd.
Armenia used disproportionate force by killing an unarmed civilian
while ignoring the fact that such a crossing did not pose any threat
to the national security of the country, said the statement.
The ministry statement also said that all necessary diplomatic steps
would be taken, and the incident yet again highlighted the need for
common sense in Armenia's relations with neighbors for normalization
and sustainable peace in the volatile region.
"This sort of development shows the need for a complete, sustainable
and comprehensive normalization process in the South Caucasus region,"
the statement read.
August/02/2013
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/russian-border-guard-shot-at-turkish-shepherd-who-crossed-into-armenian-border-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=51923&NewsCatID=355
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress