ARMENIAN PRESIDENT: NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS WITH TURKEY NOT TO IMPEDE INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
/ARKA/
April 27, 2009
YEREVAN
Normalization of the relations with Turkey is not an obstacle on
the way of international recognition of the genocide of Armenians in
Ottoman Empire, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said at the meeting
in the country’s National Security Council Saturday.
He pointed out the frequent statements made today saying that the
joint statement of the foreign ministries of Armenia, Turkey and
Switzerland on normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations on the eve
of April 24, Memorial Day of the Armenian genocide, may impede the
process of international acknowledgement of the genocide.
Foreign ministries of Armenia and Turkey, together with the Swiss
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs made a joint statement about
normalization of the relations on the night of April 23. The statement
reads that the parties reached an agreement on a wide-ranged settlement
of bilateral relations. The sides also agreed on establishing a
"road map" for normalization of the relations.
According to the President, on the contrary, the genocide topic became
a subject of a more intense coverage this time than ever.
All leading world mass media outlets were starting their news with
this topic pointing out that there has been a genocide and saying
that the President of Armenia repeatedly stated that set tlement of
relations with Turkey does not imply renunciation of the genocide
or doubting the fact of the genocide, Sargsyan said as quoted by the
presidential press service.
"Establishing relations with Turks does not impede the international
acknowledgement of the genocide. International recognition of the
genocide is the only way to prevent genocides," President said.
The fact that the statement was made on the eve of April 24 proves
that Turkey acknowledges the meaning of the day, he said.
According to Sargsyan, the signing of the statement by the Swiss
Department for Foreign Affairs and the positive response of the
U.S. Department of State followed by the telephone talk with the
U.S. Vice-President Josef Biden, confirmed the readiness of the world
community, the USA and Switzerland in particular, to consistently
assist in the process and to somehow stand surety for the agreements
reached.
"Our approaches to the cause-effect relations around the historical
facts, our national ideas and problems have not changed. But we should
realize that a step needs to be made to cover the path. Nobody says
it is easy or it would be easy but we should be ready to move in a
correct direction and protect our interests," the President said.
Armenian genocide was the first genocide committed in XX
century. Turkey rejects the accusation of massacres and the killing
of one and a half million Armenia ns during World War I.
The fact of the Armenian genocide is recognized by many countries,
particularly by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, most of the
U.S. states, as well as by the parliaments of Greece, Cyprus,
Argentina, Belgium, Wales, National Council of Switzerland, Common
House of Canada, the Seym of Poland and lower house of Italian
parliament.