At an international forum “Turkey‘s initiative policy in the modern world” in Istanbul, organized by British “Wilton Park” NGO, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu delivered a speech, touching upon Armenia-Turkey relations. In particular, he reiterated his earlier statement: “All our neighbors are our friends, and Armenia is a potential friend,” Azg daily writes.

“Trying to emphasize the fact that Turkey is open to the world, Davutoglu said a Turkish scholar of Armenian descent, an economist will be appointed Turkey’s Ambassador to Paris within the next 2-3 months. The Turkish Foreign Minister noted that he had presented the scholar to Prime Minister Erdogan and President Gul, who approved his candidacy. As for delaying the appointment for 2-3 months, it was done at the economist’s request, who wished to complete one of his research works,” Davutoglu said.

Davutoglu said nothing about the personality of a future ambassador. Senior officials of Turkish Foreign Ministry were also unaware of a new appointment. The Azg daily’s editor-in-chief held a private conversation with the ministry’s top officials, who confirmed the information was a surprise to them too.

Only one of them said the person is likely to be Daron Acemoglu, Professor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Later, the newspaper learnt from Istanbul‘s well-informed circles that he is Daron Acemoglu. He is the Head of the Department of Economics at MIT. He led the group of specialists at the university, which were twice nominated for the Nobel Prize for their studies.

“We believe that this information will not be accepted unequivocally by the Armenian press (both local and Diaspora), and the Turkish propaganda will provide important dividends in the international arena,” Azg daily reads.