ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER RULES OUT PRECONDITIONS FOR TIES WITH TURKEY
Mediamax
April 6 2009
Armenia
Yerevan, 6 April: Armenian Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbandyan stated
that "the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations should have no
preconditions and it is with this mutual understanding that we have
been negotiating with the Turkish side".
Mediamax reports that Armenian Foreign Minister said this commenting on
the statements of Turkish officials, according to which normalization
of Armenian-Turkish relations is conditioned by other issues like
the resolution of the Nagornyy Karabakh problem and the process
of international recognition of the Armenian genocide [killings of
Armenians in Ottoman Turkey in 1915].
"Normalization of relations has no linkage to the resolution of the
Nagornyy Karabakh problem and has never been a subject of negotiations
towards the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations. It has been
said many times, and I want to stress it again, that the normalization
of Armenian-Turkish relations can never question the reality of
the Armenian genocide. Today, dozens of states and international
organizations have recognized the Armenian genocide, which Armenia
has welcomed," Edvard Nalbandyan stated.
The Armenian minister also expressed an opinion that "the statements,
which put forth preconditions for the normalization of Armenian-Turkish
relations may be regarded as an attempt to impede the progress reached
in the negotiations".
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
