Serzh Sargsyan: Armenia has good relations with both the U.S. and Russia
13.02.2010 18:00 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia maintains good relations with the United
States, and Russia. Armenia and Russia are developing strategic
partnership, the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said in an
interview to Al Jazeera Arabic television channel. "There are many
Armenians in the U.S. who serve like a bridge in our relations with
the United States. The best condition for us is when we have good
relations with both Russia and the United States," the Armenian
president said.
Serzh Sargsyan stressed that Armenians from over the world have always
contributed to Armenia, but it would be desirable if they could return
to their homeland.
Speaking about the need to recognize the Armenian Genocide by the
United States, the President of Armenia said that the recognition of
the genocide is a recognition of justice. According to Serzh Sargsyan,
President Barack Obama literally said that he had not changed his
opinion on the matter.
The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic
destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during
and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres, and
deportations involving forced marches under conditions designed to
lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths
reaching 1.5 million.
To date, twenty countries and 44 U.S. states have officially
recognized the events of the period as genocide, and most genocide
scholars and historians accept this view. The Armenian Genocide has
been also recognized by influential media including The New York
Times, BBC, The Washington Post and The Associated Press.
The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the
Genocide survivors.
The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in
December 1948 as General Assembly Resolution 260. The Convention came
into effect in January 1951. It defines genocide in legal terms, and
is the culmination of years of campaigning by lawyer Raphael Lemkin,
who coined the term by reference to the Simele massacre, theHolocaust,
and the Armenian Genocide. All participating countries are advised to
prevent and punish actions of genocide in war and in peacetime. The
number of states that have ratified the convention is currently 140.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
