ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER INDIGNANT AT LETTER BY FORMER SECRETARIES OF STATE TO US SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE PELOSI ON HOUSE RESOLUTION 106

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Sept 28 2007

ArmInfo. Foreign Minister of Armenia Vardan Oskanyan is indignant at
the letter by Former Secretaries of State to US Speaker of the House
Pelosi on House Resolution 106. Below is the statement by Vardan
Oskanyan, the Foreign ministry press-service reports.

It is quite unfortunate that eight experienced diplomats would buy
into Turkish manipulation. There is much to disagree with in that
letter, especially about the purported dangers of such a resolution.

I will only address the insincere claim that such a resolution would
"damage efforts to promote reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey."

I regret to say that there is no process in place to promote
normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey. Expressing
concern about damaging a process that doesn’t exist is disingenuous.

Armenia has always been ready to have normal relations with its
neighbor. Yet, every initiative that would lead toward normalization
has been rejected by Turkey. Instead, it continues to place
pre-conditions. Turkey makes offers that are simply invitations for
open-ended talk, without serious commitment to arriving at minimal,
ordinary relations between neighbors. Even their call for a historical
commission to discuss painful, historic events is not serious, given
their prohibitive penal consequences for open speech and discussion
and the adversarial environment Turkey has created by maintaining
closed borders with Armenia. – I have already written to Speaker
Pelosi to express our deep concerns and to dismiss as unfounded any
implication that a resolution that addresses matters of human rights
and genocide could damage anyone’s bilateral relations.>

On September 25 U.S former secretaries of state appealed to Speaker of
the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi on not putting the Armenian
genocide resolution to a vote, APA’s US bureau reports.

Madeleine K. Albright, James A. Baker III, Warren Christopher,
Lawrence S. Eagleburger, Alexander M. Haig, Henry A. Kissinger,
Colin L. Powell and George P. Shultz who are playing important role
in domestic and foreign policy of U.S. at present demanded it.

Formers stated that Res. 106 would harm their foreign policy objectives
to promote reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia, also strain
their relations with Turkey, and endanger US national security
interests in the region, including the safety of their troops in Iraq
and Afghanistan.