PanARMENIAN.Net

Main Thing for Turkish Armenians is Not to Harm Relations with Government
16.12.2006 13:44 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Archbishop Mesrop Mutafian must make a statement in
the name of the Armenian community of Istanbul, since he is the leader
of the community, commented Ruben Safrastian, the head of the Oriental
Studies Institute of NAS (National Academy of Sciences) to the
PanARMENIAN.Net journalist on Archbishop’s letter to the EU
leaders. The letter says that it is necessary to continue the
negotiations with Turkey. In Safrastian’s words, the main thing for
the Armenian Constantinople Eparchy is not to harm the relations with
Turkish government.

At the same time he stressed that Turkey’s policy towards Armenia is a
policy of expectancy. `Turkey thinks that Armenia sooner or later will
agree to normalize the Turkish-Armenian relations without
preconditions, the most important of which is the acknowledgment of
the Armenian Genocide of 1915. I want to remind that in 1991 Turkish
President Süleyman Demirel recognized Armenia’s independence,
underlining that he does not recognize the foreign policy course of
the country aimed at international acknowledgment of the Armenian
Genocide,’ underscored the head of the Oriental Studies Institute of
NAS.