ARMENIAN PM SAYS ARMENIA OPEN TO TALKS WITH TURKEY
ARMENPRESS
Aug 2, 2007
YEREVAN, AUGUST 2, ARMENPRESS: In an interview with Al Jazeera Network,
Qatar, Armenia’s prime minister Serzh Sarkisian said he is ready to
negotiate with Turkey’s new government.
Serzh Sarkisian told Al Jazeera on Tuesday: "We can’t stay in a
situation without having communication and talks with our neighbor
because the easiest way of resolving this issue is dialogue and
negotiations."
Armenian prime minister reiterated Yerevan’s willingness to negotiate
unconditioned normalization of relationships. He said it was high
time to establish diplomatic relations adding also that both nations
should have done it several years ago.
According to Sarkisian, absence of normal ties damages both Turkey
and Armenia.
"It is Turkey that makes normalization of ties contingent on
conditions, which is absolutely unacceptable to us. I am sure that
prime minister Erdogan has now a better chance to solve this issue,’
he said, explaining that Armenians never said Turkey must recognize the
1915 genocide as a condition for starting normalization of relations.
"We said and are saying that the genocide did occur, but we also say
it is not a reason for Turkey and Armenia to have no relationships,
contacts and ties because the easiest way of resolving our problems
is dialogue and negotiations," Serzh Sarkisian said.
From: Baghdasarian