ARMENIANS ARE NOT THE FIFTH COLUMN

Lragir.am
19 May 06

Georgian Member of Parliament Van Bayburd assessed the talks that
Turkish forces will be deployed in Javakheti after the pull-out
of the Russian military installations as fantastic. “First of all,
the interests of the Georgian state, secondly, Georgia takes into
account and honors the interests of neighboring Armenia,” said Van
Bayburd. According to him, economic cooperation between Georgia and
Turkey is not a reason to draw such conclusions. “I am fully convinced
that there will come a time when Turkey and Armenia will have normal
relations. The question of the genocide cannot be ignored, however, for
it is an essential component of the ethnic consciousness of Armenia,”
stated Van Bayburd.

“If Russia had been reluctant to withdraw from the region, it would
not have signed the documents of the summit in Istanbul. Russia should
not have called the locals Armenians to defend it. Why should they
think in Georgia that the Armenians are the country’s fifth column,”
said Van Bayburd.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress