Elected Armenian President stated that `we are striving for Turkey’s
repentance’

March 7, 2008

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian President-Elect Serzh Sarkisian stated
that `we are striving for Turkey’s repentance, which will benefit the
Turkish society, which strives for full membership in the European
family’.

Mediamax reports that Serzh Sarkisian said this in an interview,
published in `Rossiyskaya Gazeta’ today.

`We always said and we continue saying that Armenia is ready to
establish diplomatic relations with Turkey without any preconditions
even tomorrow. Turkey is the one to present to Armenia quite strange
requirements for the establishment of diplomatic relations. One can say
that the ball is now on Ankara’s field’, Serzh Sarkisian.

Answering the question on why the issue of Armenian Genocide
recognition has such fundamental importance for Yerevan, the elected
President stated:

`For foreign policy of Armenia, the issue of the Genocide is a
priority, first of all for the international community, having
recognized the fact of Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915,
to have secured the impossibility of repetition of Genocide in future
not only concerning the Armenian people, but any other nation as well’.