VARDAN OSKANIAN’S ABOUT NEGOTIATIONS CONCERNING TURKEY’S ACCESSION TO EU

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 21. ARMINFO. With the beginning of the negotiations
concerning Turkey’s accession to European Union the issue on
recognition of the Genocide of Armenians in 1915 in Ottoman Turkey will
be in the center of attention of Europe. Minister of foreign affairs
of Armenia Vardan Oskanian stated in the interview to Armenia TV.

According to him, the fact that the problems of Armenian-Turkish
relations proved to be in the center of Europe’s attention and that
these issues will be included in the agenda of the negotiations,
is positive at the beginning of the negotiating progress of EU
with Turkey.

During the last two weeks the issue of the Genocide of Armenians were
discussed and marked as often as it was not mentioned during the
last 5 years. All the aforementioned testifies about the doubtless
successes both of Armenian diplomacy and the efforts made by Armenian
foreign communities, the foreign minister stressed.

At the same time the foreign minister of Armenia especially mentioned
the fact, which was positively estimated by the international
community, that Armenia did not and will not put the issue on the
Genocide as a term of normalization of relations with Turkey. Drawing
parallel with the Holocaust, the obvious difference is that Germany
admitting it, officially apologized and paid compensation to suffered
Jewish. And the problem of the recognition of the Genocide of Armenians
is in political aspect, as Turkey not only admits the Genocide,
but also denies the fact, resort to economic blockade and political
blackmail. In this connection, we should not expect that in 2005,
the year of 90th anniversary of the Genocide this problem will be
included in the agenda of UN General Assembly. Though Armenia intends
further to present its position in the highest instances of UN in New
York and Geneva, that’s why the year 2005 will launch a new phase in
the problem of the international community’s recognizing the Genocide
of Armenian, the foreign minster of Armenia said.