Author: Emil Karabekian

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday signed an order declaring April 24 as a day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.

According to the document, a ceremony paying tribute to the Armenian Genocide victims will be held in Paris on April 24 every year. Similar events may also be held in every city at the initiative of the local governments. The French prime minister is mandated to implement the specifics of the decision.

Macron announced the observance of April 24 as a national day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide on February 5 when he spoke at the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations (CCAF) gala in Paris.

“France is, first and foremost, the country that knows how to look history in the face, and was among the first to denounce the killing of the Armenian people in 1915 as genocide, and in 2001 after a long struggle recognized it as law,” Macron told the crowd gathered at the CCAF gala in February.

“I am very proud to represent in Armenia the country that will commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915—an integral part of our collective memory—every year, ” France’s Ambassador to Armenia Jonathan Lacote wrote in a Facebook message on Thursday.

Macron’s announcement came on the heels of Italy’s Chamber of Deputies overwhelmingly adopting a resolution calling on Italy to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

In a statement, Turkey’s foreign ministry strongly condemned both decisions on Thursday.

“It is inevitable that France’s attitude, which is far from amicable, will impact its relations with Turkey in a negative way,” the statement said.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry called the Italian legislature’s vote as an example of using Armenian claims for domestic political interests.

“It is not surprising that this motion was drafted by the Lega Party, led by Matteo Salvini, who is committed to sabotaging relations between Turkey and Italy,” added the foreign ministry statement.

YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am)—James Appathurai, NATO deputy assistant secretary general for political affairs and the secretary general’s special representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, arrived in Armenia on Monday for an annual NATO Week event held this year from March 11 to 15.

While in Yerevan the NATO representative also held meetings with a number of senior Armenian officials, including President Armen Sarkissian.

At a meeting with Sarkissian in Yerevan, Appathurai described Armenia as a “stable and trustworthy partner.”

Appathurai and Sarkissian also underlined Armenia’s effective participation in a number of NATO-Armenia projects, including in international peacekeeping missions, the Armenian president’s press service said. Matters relating to regional and international developments were also discussed, it added.

While in Yerevan the NATO representative also met with Defense Minister David Tonoyan and Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanian.

During the meeting between Tonoyan and Appathurai a number of issues related to Armenia-NATO cooperation, in particular, the course of events planned for the Armenia-NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) and Planning and Review Process partnership, their summary and assessment, as well as planning for the coming years were discussed.

According to the Armenian Defense Ministry’s official website, the sides stressed the importance of Armenia’s participation in NATO’s peacekeeping missions in Kosovo and Afghanistan as a major contribution to international security.

Issues related to regional security were also discussed at the meeting, the official report added.

Later, Armenian Foreign Minister Mnatsakanyan and Appathurai discussed prospects of continued political dialogue between Armenia and NATO as part of the IPAP, the process of reforms in the defense and security areas, cooperation in emergency situations, science and a number of other areas of mutual interest.

According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry’s official website, Mnatsakanyan and the NATO secretary general’s special representative exchanged views on a number of regional and international issues.

At the request of Appathurai, Minister Mnatsakanyan presented “Armenia’s foreign-policy priorities, the approaches and principle-based position of the Armenian side in the matter of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”

At a press conference later on Monday the NATO official said that during his meetings with Armenia’s defense minister and foreign minister they also addressed the recent sending by Armenia of a humanitarian mission to Syria, including sappers and medics.

Appathurai said both ministers clearly presented the political and humanitarian reasons for the Armenian government to take that step.