Zaman Online, Turkey
Nov 7 2004
Yerevan Mellows about Genocide Claim
It is reported that this year the Armenian government has not
included an article about the so-called genocide in the 2005 budget
draft that has been sent to Parliament.
According to the Armenian Arminfo news agency, the decision to
improve relations with Turkey, Georgia and Iran was included in the
draft of foreign policy priorities of the government. While the news
has not been officially confirmed, Ankara evaluated Armenia’s
omission of the so-called genocide article from the budget draft as a
positive step.
Diplomatic sources said that although this omission was important, it
would not be enough to normalize relations between the two countries.
There remain articles in Armenia’s constitution, which are against
Turkey’s territorial integrity. In the draft sent to the Parliament,
there were some expressions such as providing for the security of the
country, maintaining stability and democracy and providing a peaceful
and fair solution for the Nagharno Karabagh problem.
The Azerbaijani daily Express reported that Turkish and Armenian
diplomats would meet in Istanbul next week to discuss the
establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and
also how Yerevan’s policy about the so-called genocide would be
handled, but there was no official confirmation of the meeting.
Ankara indicates that Armenia should first take some steps to solve
the Karabagh problem.
In Armenia’s former budget drafts, there was an apparent policy about
the recognition of the so-called genocide by Turkey by other
countries. Commentators claim that the article about the ‘security of
the country’ was related with the genocide claims and that Yerevan
cannot give up its claims about genocide in the short term. In the
11th article of the Declaration of Armenian Independence it states,
‘Armenia will support activities to provide the international
recognition of genocide in Ottoman Turkey and West Armenia (East
Anatolia).’