OFFICIAL YEREVAN GETS NO NEW PROPOSALS FROM ANKARA

YEREVAN, JANUARY 30, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. "I find it
difficult to come to the political conclusions arising from Hrant
Dink’s death, and, telling the truth, I would not like to do it," RA
President’s Spokesman Victor Soghomonian said during the January 9
meeting with journalists.

Responding the Noyan Tapan correspondent’s question if after Hrant
Dink’s death Turkey took any step in the direction of normalization of
the relations with Armenia, V.Soghomonian said that no new proposals
were got from official Ankara. In V.Soghomonian’s words, the position
of Armenia is unchanging: Armenia is ready to establish with Turkey
relations without preconditions and Turkey opens the Armenian-Turkish
border without preconditions.

"We are ready to establish diplomatic relations with Turkey, found a
joint intergovernmental commission which may be engaged in any issue,
interesting for the two countries. Beside, not a narrow specialists’,
for example, historians’, but just an intergovernmental commission
must be createdd," the RA President’s Spokesman emphasized.

To recap, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul mentioned on Janaury
24 that "Turkey is ready to establish good-neighbourly relations with
Armenia, but it will not be possible if the two sides do not
cooperate." At the same time, in the Turkish Foreign Minister’s words,
Armenia "must not present unjust demands to Turkey," like the demand
to recognize the Armenian Genocide implemented in the Ottaman
Empire. The Turkish Minister again stated his government’s proposal to
found a joint commission of Armenian and Turkish scientists for
studying the Armenian Genocide issue.