LEVON TER-PETROSYAN: WE MUST NOT BASE ON A THIRD PARTY IN ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS

arminfo
2007-12-08 17:32:00

ArmInfo. "We must not base on a third party in Armenian- Turkish
relations, we have no right to repeat the mistake of the end of the
19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries", the first Armenian
president Levon Ter- Petrosyan said at the mass rally of his supporters
at Azatutyun Square, Yerevan, Saturday.

According to him, the Armenians must free themselves from old
complexes, overcome victim’s psychology peculiar to them. Otherwise,
it’s impossible to become a modern nation. He said that the
present authorities have found a new method of "knocking down" the
ex-president, accusing the latter for pro-Turkish orientation. "The
accusations that I didn’t raise the issue of international recognition
of the Armenian Genocide, do not reflect the reality, to put it
mildly. It’s another thing that unlike Robert Kocharian, I think
it untimely to make the problem a cornerstone of Armenia’s foreign
policy. This has nothing to do with our Diaspora at all. The sons
of the Armenians spread all over the world who are lawful taxpayers,
have full right to raise the genocide recognition issue in front of
their governments.

In the relations with Turkey Armenia must proceed from the reality
that we think the events of 1915 to be genocide and Turkey still
doesn’t. Moreover, I don’t doubt that Turkey will recognize the
Armenian Genocide sooner or later, but it will become possible only
in the atmosphere of normal and good neighborly relations between
the two countries", Levon Ter-Petrosyan said.

Speaking about the present Armenian authorities’ policy in the
sphere of Armenian-Turkish relations, the ex-president said that
the intervention of the country’s leadership into the contacts
between Turkey and the EU is wrong. "Why do we intervene into
issues, on the solution of which we are not able to have any serious
influence? Well, it is quite obvious that the EU is slowing down the
speed of cooperation, as it is not ready to accept Turkey.

And when the EU is ready for that, it will easily put aside all the
"buts" including the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian authority’s
challenge is not the impeding of Turkey’s joining the EU. On the
contrary, it was necessary to call Brussels not to use Armenian card
in determination of its relations with Turkey", Levon Ter-Petrosyan
summed up.