Armenia's Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan is in Ankara for the Parliamentary Assembly of BSEC
A representative of Armenia said on Friday that it was “unfortunate” that Ankara reacted to the unveiling of a monument dedicated to the heroes of Operation Nemesis in a negative manner.
Speaker of Armenia’s Parliament Alen Simonyan, who is representing Armenia at the Black Sea Economic Council’s parliamentary assembly being held in Ankara, told reporters that the installation of the monument should not be “perceived as foreign policy or unfriendly step” by Ankara.
Turkey closed its airspace to overflights by FlyOne Armenia airlines on April 29. This week Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu cited the unveiling of the monument as the reason for Ankara’s decision.
The State Department voiced concern over the Turkey’s decision to close its airspace, saying it contradicted the agreements reached between Ankara and Yerevan, as the two are in the midst of normalization talks.
“I regret that the installation of the monument received such a reaction in Turkey. I’ve discussed this issue with my Turkish colleague. The decision [on installing the monument] was made in the local self-government body. And I wouldn’t want the installation of the monument to be perceived here as a display of Armenia’s state, foreign policy or an unfriendly step,” Simonyan told Turkish media.
He stressed that foreign policy is conducted by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister in Armenia, and everyone has witnessed the decisions made on these levels in the past months.
“We must realize that reasons or occasions for deteriorating relations can always be found, if desired. I could have found a thousand different reasons for not traveling to Turkey. But I am here to tell the Turkish public that Armenia is ready for peace and normalization of relations without preconditions,” Simonyan said.
He said that Armenia is absolutely sincere in its aspirations and desires for normalizing relations. “If there is political will, a decision to establish relations, we must understand that this won’t be an easy road. But nevertheless, let’s move forward. I hope that our Turkish colleagues will also move forward and we will use this historic opportunity to open a new chapter for us and the region,” Simonyan said.
Simonyan is leading a delegation of Armenian lawmakers to Ankara to attend the 30th sitting of the Parliamentary Assembly of BSEC.
During his presentation to the assembly on Thursday, Simonyan said Azerbaijan continued its provocations and aggressive policy toward Armenia and Karabakh, citing the more than four-month-old blockade of Artsakh as an example.
“At this moment, it has already been five months that Azerbaijan has grossly violating the provisions of Trilateral Statement of November 9, 2020. It has blockaded the Lachin Corridor, the only life road of Nagorno Karabakh, which under the direct control the peacekeepers from the Russian Federation. This has resulted in a humanitarian crisis. On April 23, Azerbaijan set up an illegal checkpoint at the starting point of the Lachin Corridor. Though the Azerbaijani side insists that the Corridor is open, but actually it continues to remain closed for free flow of traffic,” Simonyan said.
“The crisis has had a wide international response. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the UN International Court of Justice made decisions on unblocking of the Lachin Corridor, which were despised by officials is Baku,” added Simonyan who also addressed the fact that Azerbaijan continues to hold Armenian prisoners of war captive.