Selahattin Demirtas, a Kurdish candidate for Turkish presidency, has promised to recognize the Armenian Genocide if elected President.
"I have always regarded the events of 1915 as genocide. It was an organized massacre, an annihilation policy. The same policy later affected the Kurds but not as cruelly as the Armenians. Those who will elect me President must know that I regard the events of 1915 as Armenian Genocide and am committed to remind the world of it each April 24. But it was not a crime committed by the Turkish people. It was a policy of the regime that ruled in Turkey at that time," Demirtas said.
The presidential election in Turkey is scheduled for Aug 10. The candidates are Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and Selahattin Demirtas.