ANKARA, JERUSALEM COORDINATE POSITIONS ON URGENT ISSUES IN CAUCASUS

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.02.2010 11:26 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Despite the ongoing crisis in Israeli-Turkish
relations, Ankara and Jerusalem coordinate positions on urgent issues
in Caucasus.

On February 16, high-ranking diplomats led by Pinchas Avivi, Deputy
Director-General at the Israeli Foreign Ministry, held consultations
in Ankara. Mr. Avivi said later that cooperation with third countries,
specifically Caucasian, was in focus. Remaining Azerbaijan’s closest
ally and caring about the rights of Azerbaijanis in Nagorno Karabakh,
Turkey has firmly decided to sign an agreement with Armenia, according
to him.

Asked by IzRus about the motion on the Armenian Genocide recognition
which can be soon discussed in Knesset, Mr. Avivi said, "Our official
position remains unchangeable. This is an issue to be resolved
by Armenia and Turkey. We stand against any interference of third
countries."

The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet
Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks
held through Swiss mediation.

On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.

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.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the
Genocide survivors.

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.