PRESIDENT OF ROMANIA CONSIDERS ISSUE OF TURKEY’S RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE AS HISTORIC ARGUMENT

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Oct 5 2006

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN. Romania is always ready to help a
neighbouring state in issues relating to borders and history.

President of Romania Traian Basescu stated about it at the October
5 meeting with the students and professors’ and lecturers’ staff of
the Yerevan State University organized within the two-day official
visit in Armenia.

Responding the question how he relates to Turkey’s membership to
the European Union, if we take into consideration that Turkey does
not recognize the Armenian Genocide and keeps close the border with
Armenia, T.Basescu mentioned that it is necessary to build the future,
and to keep the history in history books and people’s memory.

"And do not put the historic arguments as a condition of future,"
T.Basescu advised. In his words, "speaking about the future, the
only right way is integration to the EU, keeping that main standard
that it is necessary to have good friendly relations with the EU and
NATO." "The NATO and the EU are not those structures which will allow
discussion of historic arguments inside them," he emphasized.

Touching upon the possible precedent of adopting the law considering
punishable refusal of the Armenian Genocide in France, the President
of Romania emphasized: "We’ll not do a thing that will influence
on our neutrality in relations with all the countries of the Black
Sea region."

To recap, at the meeting with the YSU professors’ and lecturers’ staff
and students, T.Basescu was confered the YSU honorary doctor’s title.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress