FRANCOIS HOLLANDE: RECOGNITION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS A MUST FOR TURKEY
armradio.am
06.09.2007 15:03
September 6 RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian received the
delegation of the French Socialist Party headed by First Secretary
Francois Hollande.
Greeting the guests, Minister Oskanian stressed the importance of the
visit of French Socialists to Armenia, noting that the Armenian-French
relations are on a high level, and the Socialist Party has a great
input here.
Presenting the aim of the visit, Francois Hollande said Armenia and
Armenians are of particular importance for France, which is evidenced
by the visit of the ex-President of France Jacques Chirac to Armenia,
the conduct of the Year of Armenian in France, as well as the French
Armenian community.
At the guest’s request, Minister Oskanian presented the main
directions of Armenia’s foreign policy, the relations with neighbors,
the negotiation process on the Karabakh conflict settlement, Armenia’s
position on normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations.
Turning to the possible accession of Turkey to the EU, Mr. Hollande
informed that the Socialist Party stands for the continuation of
accession talks and considers that the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide is a must for Turkey, and the opening of the border with
Armenia and establishment of diplomatic relations must take place as
soon as possible. The leader of the French Socialists also turned to
the domestic developments in France.
The French delegation comprised MPs (Rene Rouquet and Bruno le Roux,
as well as the leaders of the ARF Western European body.