ARMENIA DOES NOT REFUSE FORM THE EFFORTS FOR INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

armradio.am
02.11.2009 17:43

President Serzh Sargsyan visited the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
today to participate in the diocesan meeting of the Armenian Apostolic
Church.

Speaking about state-church relations, President Sargsyan said those
are particularly important in the current historical period. "Let’s
confess that the regulation of the state-church relations is not an
easy thing. The church should not interfere in state affairs, and
the state should not interfere in the church affairs. This simple
formula is hard to implement, because for us, Armenians, it’s nearly
impossible to determine the boundary where the religious culture
ends and the secular, especially the political culture starts. I
think that today we are close to the golden mean. We are actually,
on the correct path. The state bodies are ready to continue and deepen
this cooperation, which is already yielding positive results," Serzh
Sargsyan said.

Touching upon the process of normalization of the Armenian-Turkish
relations, Serzh Sargsyan underlined that it does not mean refusal
from the efforts for the international recognition of the Armenian
Genocide. President Sargsyan noted that as a responsible role-player
in the system of international relations, the Republic of Armenia
has always been loyal to the fulfillment of its commitments and is
ready to move towards establishment of relations with Turkey without
preconditions and within a reasonable timeframe in line with the
spirit and letter of the signed protocols.

According to President Sargsyan, the international community also
stands for the ratification of the protocols and establishment of
relations without preconditions and within a reasonable timeframe.

Touching upon the concern that the Turkish side is attempting to tie
the normalization of relations with Armenia to the Karabakh conflict
settlement, President Sargsyan repeated that the two processes were
in no way linked. According to Serzh Sargsyan, Armenia moves along
the path of solving those issues separately and is resolute in its
position that it’s necessary to find solutions that will ensure
lasting peace and development in the region.