ARMENIAN FM SAYS OBAMA’S APRIL 24 STATEMENT A STEP FORWARD

Hurriyet
April 28 2009
Turkey

ISTANBUL – U.S. President Barack Obama’s statement regarding the 1915
incidents is a "step forward" compared with the statements made by
former U.S. presidents, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian
said Monday.

"There are very strong points in this statement. President Obama said
that he has many times expressed his approach toward what happened
in 1915, and he has not changed his opinion. President Obama used the
‘Meds Yeghern’ phrase, we – Armenians – use either the ‘genocide’ or
‘Meds Yeghern’ concepts," Nalbandian told the Armenpress News Agency.

"But of course, all Armenians were waiting for the U.S. president to
utter the word ‘genocide,’" he added.

Obama, who pledged to recognize the Armenian claims regarding the
1915 incident during his presidential campaign, did not use the word
"genocide" while describing the events in his annual April 24 statement
to mark the "day of remembrance of the Armenian deaths."

Instead, he used the Armenian term for the killings, "Meds Yeghern,"
which has been variously translated into English as the "Great
Calamity" or "Great Disaster." He also branded the events as "one of
the great atrocities of the 20th century."

TURKEY-ARMENIA THAW Nalbandian also praised "the important personal
assistance" Obama displayed for the normalization of relations between
Turkey and Armenia.

Obama’s statement came days after Turkey and Armenia announced that
under Switzerland’s mediation they agreed on a comprehensive framework
for the normalization of ties between the two neighboring countries
that have not had diplomatic relations for more than a decade. The
U.S. president extended his support to the normalization process.

Nalbandian said Armenia is seeking to fully normalize relations with
Turkey without preconditions, including those connected with the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and recognition of the "genocide" claims.

He said he hopes that once the two countries normalize their relations
the leaders from Turkey and Armenia would attend the ceremonies
commemorating the 1915 incidents together.

"I hope that when we improve – normalize our relations – not only
will the leadership of our country put flowers in Tsitsernakaberd but
the Turkish leadership will join us. Why can we not do what Charles
de Gaulle and Adenauer did? I am sure that such a day will come and
Armenian and Turkish leaders will make that step," he said.