ARMENIA FOREIGN MINISTER: NO PREREQUISITES TO IMPROVEMENT OF TIES WITH TURKEY

Eurasianet

April 6, 2009

Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian underlined on April 6 that
the pursuit of better relations with Turkey does not mean that Armenia
will change its position on the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh,
or on its push for international recognition of Ottoman Turkey’s 1915
massacre of ethnic Armenians as genocide.

"Resolution of our relations is not tied to resolution of the Karabakh
problem, and this issue was never a subject of talks," Nalbandian
was quoted as saying by the A1plus news website. He added that any
efforts to cast doubt on Armenia’s genocide claims and reverse its
position on Nagorno-Karabakh would spoil the talks.

Turkey and Armenia, longtime enemies, have recently been inching
toward a thaw in their relations, a prospect that has raised concerns
in Turkey’s main ally in the South Caucasus, Azerbaijan, that Ankara’s
support for Azerbaijan on the Karabakh issue will weaken.