Turkey’s joining EU will force it to correctly assess its past

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.04.2007 16:49 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia doesn’t stand against Turkey’s membership in
the European Union, Armenian President Robert Kocharian said during a
meeting with the students of the Yerevan State University. Armenia will
have a predictable and firm neighbor in this case, he said. "Turkey’s
joining EU will force it to correctly assess its past but it should
fulfill the EU’s conditions. I should mention that the issue is more
pungent for European states than for Turkey itself. Europeans do not
want to have a state with different culture and faith in their family,"
Robert Kocharian underscored.

The RA President said acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide by
Turkey is on Armenia’s foreign agenda.

"Let them keep the border closed as long as they wish.

We will not abandon the demand to recognize the Armenian Genocide. At
that we by no means bind recognition with the claim for lands or any
other compensation. These are different things. In international
structures Turkey connects these two aspects, saying "if Turkey
recognizes Genocide, Armenia will claim lands". We can speak of
compensations only," the RA leader said.