SWITZERLAND READY TO ASSIST WITH ESTABLISHMENT OF RELATIONS BETWEEN ARMENIA AND TURKEY
NOYAN TAPAN
Ju ne 27
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, who are expected to arrive in Armenia
on June 27, will then visit Nagorno Karabakh, the RA foreign minister
Edward Nalbandian stated at a press conference on the same day. In his
words, the matter does not concern new proposals: the negotiations
are continuing based on the proposals made by the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs in Madrid in November 2007. E. Nalbandian reminded that he
and Azerbaijan’s foreign minister stated this after the meeting of
the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in Saint Petersburg.
E. Naldandian said that the rumors published by some mass media outlets
about failure of the president Serge Sargsian’s visit to Moscow
are not true. "The visit was splendid, and we reasserted our warm
strategic, allied relations with Russia," he stated. In his words,
the negotiations covered a wide range of bilateral, regional and
international issues. He said that in Russia the Armenian president
received an exceptionally warm reception by the president D. Medvedev,
the prime minsiter V. Putin, and the heads of two chambers of the
Russian parliament.
In response to the question about S. Sargsian’s statement on creation
of an Armenian-Turkish commission of historians, E. Nalbandian
replied that Armenia’s position in Armenian-Turkish relations has not
changed and the issue of the genocide remains on the agenda. "Armenia
repeatedly stated and states today that we are prepared to establish
relations with Turkey without any precondition and open the borders,
and we are prepared to discuss all the issues which interest both
sides – after the establishment of diplomatic relations and opening
the borders," the Armenian foreign minister declared.
The Swiss foreign minister Micheline Calmy-Rey said that her country
has always proposed and now it is ready to assist with establishemnt
of bilateral relations between Armenia and Turkey if the sides apply
to Switzerland with such a request.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
