ARMENIA’S RULING COALITION IN FAVOR OF THAW IN TURKEY RELATIONS

RIA Novosti
April 27, 2009
YEREVAN

The Armenian ruling coalition said on Monday it supported the
president’s foreign policy to normalize ties with Turkey.

Armenia and Turkey came to an agreement April 23 on a "roadmap"
aimed at normalizing bilateral relations, which have been virtually
non-existent following a bitter row over the massacre of ethnic
Armenians in Turkey in the early 20th century.

Turkey says Armenia must end attempts to have the killings recognized
as an act of genocide, and claims the deaths of an estimated 1.5
million Armenians at the end of the Ottoman period in 1915 were caused
by civil unrest as the Empire collapsed. However, Armenia and a number
of other countries say the killings were the first genocide of the
20th century.

"We welcome the steps by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan aimed at
normalizing the Armenian-Turkish relations without preconditions and
within reasonable terms," the coalition parties said in a statement.

Armenia’s coalition, formed in March 2008, unites the Republican
Party of Armenia, Prosperous Armenia, Orinats Erkir (Country of Law)
and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun).

However, the Dashnaktsutyun party announced on Monday it was
withdrawing from the coalition over the "roadmap" agreement with
Turkey, which it called "unacceptable and condemnable."

The Armenian ruling coalition said in a statement it respected the
position of Dashnaktsutyun and hoped to "cooperate on a broad range
of issues of national and state interests."

The border between Armenia and Turkey was closed in 1993 on Ankara’s
initiative following fighting between Armenia and Turkey’s ally,
Azerbaijan, over Nagorny Karabakh. The disputed region has a majority
Armenian population, but which is within Azerbaijan’s borders. Turkey
has said it wants talks with Armenia to take place in parallel to
Armenian-Azerbaijani discussions on the future status of the region.