PATRIARCH KIRILL HOPES HISTORICAL MEMORY BASED ON HATRED WON’T PREVENT ARMENIA AND TURKEY FROM DIALOGUE

Interfax
March 18 2010
Russia

Yerevan, March 18, Interfax – Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia
hopes that hatred and false historical memory will not characterize
bilateral dialogue between Armenia and Turkey.

"If there’s hatred, there’s no life. We can remember and keep this
memory as holy because the blood of innocent people was holy. However,
today we shouldn’t let this memory prevent us from developing
relations, especially between Armenia and Turkey," Patriarch Kirill
said on Thursday speaking at the Yerevan State University.

Having mentioned his recent visit to the Memorial to Victims of
Genocide in Yerevan, Patriarch Kirill said it was very important
that "Armenian society remembers about it, remembers those who were
killed." However, the Patriarch stressed that "it’s necessary to
remember without kindling the fire of hatred."

He said "it is always very difficult to forgive," though stressed that
"to forgive doesn’t mean to forget, and forgiveness opens opportunities
for moving forward and this moving forward should be bilateral."

"Even the most difficult pages in history, that couldn’t be wiped
away from national memory, at the same time shouldn’t lay weight on
people," the Russian Church Primate believes.

Patriarch Kirill further said that historical forgiveness "doesn’t
undermine national identity and ability to keep in memory victims
among your people."