Premier vows to have “Armenian genocide” recognized
Arminfo
18 Apr 05
Yerevan, 18 April: Turkey’s proposal to set up an Armenian-Turkish
scientific commission to study historical facts concerning the
genocide of Armenians is unacceptable to Armenia, the Armenian prime
minister and chairman of the Republican Party, Andranik Markaryan,
told journalists today.
He noted that the genocide of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey [in 1915]
is a historical fait accompli for Armenia. Markaryan said that Armenia
and Turkey may discuss issues of establishing bilateral diplomatic
relations. He stressed that he is not against the creation of different
Armenian-Turkish commissions.
“The formation of an Armenian-Turkish interparliamentary commission and
different public committees will only contribute to the establishment
of bilateral relations,” he said.
Markaryan expressed confidence that Turkey would change its position
on the recognition of the genocide of Armenians sooner or later under
pressure from the international community and the EU.
“This will be our victory if we manage to establish diplomatic
relations with Ankara shortly, after which Turkey will open its
border with Armenia, and an atmosphere will be formed between the
two countries to discuss problematic issues,” the prime minister said.
There are many issues between Armenia and Turkey that need to be
resolved, he noted. “We need to decide what kind of financial and
territorial claims Armenia has and at what level they should be
raised – at a state or public level,” Markaryan said. He said he
shares the position of the Armenian president that the issue of
territorial claims against Turkey is not the problem of the state,
but that of individuals who need to raise them.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry has already developed a state concept
to promote the international recognition of the genocide of Armenians
and prevent such crimes in future, he said.
“Armenia’s policy towards the international recognition of the
genocide will be continued. It is important that the genocide is
recognized not only by countries where Armenian communities live,
but also by states where Armenians do not live. This will mean that
the international community recognizes the tragedy of the Armenian
people,” the prime minister said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress