ARMENIA CAN BENEFIT FROM NORMAL RELATIONS WITH TURKEY: SERZH SARGSYAN

Tert.am
16:18 05.10.09

During the week-long Pan-Armenian Tour, Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan met with representatives from different Armenian national
organizations and structures from the Western United States and Latin
America at Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles on October 4.

Referring to Armenian-Turkish political dialogue, Sargsyan said
negotiations with Turkey have taken place since Armenia’s independence
and only recently have they been made public.

Sargsyan attached importance not only to the will to be consistent
in following one’s purpose in any negotiation, but also the time
and situation in which they are held, expressing confidence that
it has been quite favourable for Armenia in terms of strengthening
its purposes.

As announced by the press office of the Armenian president, speaking
on the presigned Armenian-Turkish Protocols, President Sargsyan said,
"Yes, I believe it is possible to hold normal negotiations, to have
normal relations with Turkey and not to lose but rather benefit
from it."

The Armenian Benevolent General Union organized a gala banquet, which
took place after the meeting at the Hilton, in honour of President
Sargsyan. More than 500 member of Diasporan communites from the
Western United States and Latin America were present at the gala.

During a speech made at the gala, Sargsyan said:

"One of the reasons why today there are 120 different types of
hyphenated Armenians (Armenian-American, Armenian-Argentinean,
Armenian-Brazilian, and so on) is Turkey. The Turkey of the 19th,
20th century. But the sorrow of losing one’s loved one, family,
home is, perhaps, measured by thousands of years… But today, we
still don’t see repentance; even more so, we face denial. We see a
vain expectation that our voice will be heard less over time. How
unfortunate. Our sorrow is deep. Our loss is inconsolable. It is
impossible to silence our voice. Our spirit is unbending. We have
all this. But we also lack some ties impedes us very much…

"Future Armenia will be such as we dream, plan and build it
today. Alexander Tamanyan was dreaming, planning and beginning to
build the capital for all-Armenians, Yerevan. The following generations
really lived in the capital dreamt by Tamanyan. Of course, time made
its inevitable edits, but, I repeat, we lived in that city. Today, the
situation is the same. Our future country will be such as we imagine
it. What is necessary in the first place is trust, which Tamanyan had:
first in himself; second, in the future of Armenians. I am here also
for that reason, for us to renew our trust in our own abilities and
in future."