Sputnik News Service
Thursday 8:17 PM UTC
EU Urges Armenia to Normalize Relations With Turkey Without Preconditions
BRUSSELS, June 13 (Sputnik) – The European Union confirmed its support for the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey and called upon both sides to proceed without preconditions, the EU-Armenia Partnership Council said in a joint statement on Thursday.
“On Turkey, the EU reiterated its support for the normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations and stressed the need for both sides to engage in this process without preconditions,” the statement said.
The statement also said that Yerevan was designated to receive over 160 million euros ($181 million) worth of assistance from the European Union throughout 2017-2020 and an additional 25 million euros ($28 million) in 2019 “in recognition of Armenia's determination to pursue a reform agenda and to implement the CEPA [Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement] effectively."
The European Union signed CEPA with Armenia in November 2017, saying it does not preclude Yerevan from membership in the Eurasian Economic Union. The partnership agreement covers political dialogue, economic and security spheres.
Armenia and Turkey have strained relations due to their differing assessments of WWI history. Armenia has maintained that around 1.5 million of its people were killed or starved to death by the Ottoman Empire during the war, and insisted on the international recognition of these events as genocide. Turkey has repeatedly denied accusations.
As of 2019, a total of 33 states, including Russia, Canada, France and Germany, as well as all states but Mississippi of the United States, have recognized the massacre as genocide.