EDWARD NALBANDIAN: INITIATED DOCUMENTS HAVE NO MENTION OF PRECONDITION, ESPECIALLY PRECONDITION REGARDING NAGORNO KARABAKH SETTLEMENT
NOYAN TAPAN
OCTOBER 1, 2009
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, NOYAN TAPAN. On October 1, RA Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian spoke at the National Assembly and presented the
authorities’ "approaches and perceptions on the current process of
normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, initiated documents and
possible developments and concerns." Below is the text of Foreign
Minister’s speech provided to Noyan Tapan by the RA Foreign Ministry
Press and Information Department:
"Thank you for this opportunity to present to you our approaches and
perceptions on the current process of normalization of Armenian-Turkish
relations, initiated documents and possible developments and concerns.
Since getting independent Armenia has been ready to normalize its
relations with Turkey without preconditions. Now we are fulfilling
this striving Armenia had expressed for years. <…>
I am ready to give explanations and to answer questions and points
interesting you. <…>
Are there any preconditions? No and once again no. Do we cast a doubt
on the fact of Armenian Genocide, hinder the international recognition
of the Armenian Genocide? No and once again no. Is there a relation
between the initiated documents and the Nagorno Karabakh negotiations
process? No and once again no.
The Armenian President has repeatedly declared that Armenia does
not discuss the issue of Armenian Genocide’s happening or not, does
not question the fact of Genocide and the importance of Genocide’s
international recognition.
As RA Foreign Minister I declared it in Turkey, in 2008 November in
Istanbul, in the presence of more than one hundred journalists.
The process of recognition of Armenian Genocide has several planes
regarding problems of recognition by the international community and
by proper Turkey.
The problem of Armenian Genocide is rather considered by the
international community from point of view of not Armenian-Turkish
relations but universal values and in this respect is involved in
spheres of discussion of such vital issues as human rights, prevention
of genocide as danger of the gravest crime against mankind. I touched
upon this issue two days ago in my speech at the UN General Assembly.
The assertions that if Armenia carries out a dialogue with Turkey,
the issue of Genocide will be limited to only an issue discussed
between two states and will lose its universal significance are
artificial. We are also sure that the initiated documents give no
ground to doubt that the Armenian people is deprived of the right to
pursue historic justice.
About the supposed relation between the Nagorno Karabakh negotiations
process and initiated documents. The initiated documents have no
mention of a precondition, especially a precondition regarding the
Nagorno Karabakh settlement.
And the Armenian President has repeatedly declared it. I have touched
upon it in my official statement in response to Turkish Prime
Minister’s statement. I cite: "The Turkish side is informed and,
we are sure, it realizes that we exclude conditioning normalization
of Armenian-Turkish relations by steps of Nagorno Karabakh settlement."
And it is not only the approach of principle of the Armenian
authorities but also of the international community, which has already
repeatedly expressed its position over that issue. The Minsk Group
co-chairing countries have repeatedly expressed their position over
it. After a meeting with U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton two days ago the Secretary of State
once again reaffirmed the position of the U.S. over that issue. And
the co-chairs being in Yerevan at present made a unanimous statement
in this connection.
As I have already mentioned, the Armenian-Turkish relations are a
complicated knot of psychological, social, legal, economic, political
problems, therefore the solution cannot be easy. Armenia seeks to
establish good-neighborly relations with all its neighbor states. That
is what we are moving to.
I think it is appropriate to finish my speech with a quotation from
RA President’s greeting speech:
"I view the end of those processes as ensuring a minimum environment
that will give a possibility to launch a dialogue with Turkey. We have
many problems to solve on the plane of normalization of Armenia-Turkey
relations… Let’s understand everybody’s task and what work we should
do together. I think it is the most important thing."