ARMENIAN NGOS SET UP GROUP TO PROMOTE NORMALIZATION OF TIES WITH TURKEY

Mediamax
April 28 2010
Armenia

Yerevan, 28 April 28. Four Armenian NGOs announced establishment of
a consortium on normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations.

Mediamax reports that the memorandum was signed by the Union of
Manufacturers [Industrialists] and Entrepreneurs (Employers) of Armenia
(UMEA), Yerevan Press Club (YPC), Eurasia Partnership Foundation and
International Centre for Human Development (ICHD).

Executive Director of ICHD Tevan Poghosyan stated that the memorandum
aims at coordinating programmes [being] realized for normalization
of Armenian-Turkish relations. "The sides of the memorandum attach
importance to Armenian-Turkish relations and want to make their
contribution to this important process for Armenia," Tevan Poghosyan
stated.

UMEA Chairman Arsen Kazaryan stated that he does not consider
establishment of the consortium "a belated initiative" against the
background of the suspension of the process of Armenian-Turkish
protocols’ ratification in the Armenian National Assembly
[parliament]. According to him, "civil initiatives should be next to
political processes in order to achieve the desired results".

According to him, each of the four organizations has a circle of
Turkish partners, jointly with whom they will be elaborating projects.

Chairman of YPC Boris Navasardyan stated that he does not agree to
[with] the opinion that "the process of normalizing Armenian-Turkish
relations has been exhausted".

"The first stage of the dialogue might have been described as
constructive indefiniteness, and now the sides try to make analysis
of the reasons, which hindered achieving a result," he noted.