RA MFA: TURKEY CAN RENDER ASSISTANCE IN KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

DeFacto Agency
Feb 12 2008
Armenia

Yerevan, 12.02.08. DE FACTO. Turkey can assist to achieve rapid
settlement of the Karabakh conflict via its positive participation,
RA FM Vardan Oskanian stated while addressing the audience in the
course of the 44th Munich Conference on Security Policy, RA MFA Press
Office reports.

RA FM commented Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s speech concerning
Turkey’s democratic and dominating strategic role in the region and
beyond its birders. In his speech Turkey’s PM again mentioned the
reasons for closing Armenian-Turkish border – Armenia’s involvement
in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Armenia’s consistency in the
issue of the Armenian Genocide’s resolution.

Vardan Oskanian reminded that Nagorno-Karabakh conflict had been
proceeding between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, while the Genocide’s
recognition was Armenia’s moral and historical responsibility.

Armenian Minister doubted if these two issues could be a justification
for closing the borders between the two countries, which were not >>>
at war.

Besides, RA FM underscored that Armenia advocated normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations, establishing diplomatic ties, opening
borders. He also added Armenia was a supporter of Turkey’s entry
into the European Union: Turkey can become a natural bridge between
Caucasus, on the one hand, and the EU and NATO, on the other hand.

According to Vardan Oskanian, establishing normal bilateral relations
will enable Armenia and Turkey to discuss differences in approaches
to the issue of Armenian Genocide.

To note, Turkish PM has not answered RA FM. Instead he again
repeated the Turkish party’s proposal concerning establishing a joint
commission of historians, noting that the massacre of 1915 had not been
historically proved: on the one hand, he suggested that historians
and archeologists consider the issue, on the other hand he rejected
the possibility that the Genocide was a part of Turkey’s history.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress