European Parliamentarian Wonders If Armenia Can Normalize Relations

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARIAN WONDERS IF ARMENIA CAN NORMALIZE RELATIONS WITH TURKEY AT EXPENSE OF TERRITORIAL CONCESSIONS

by Ashot Safaryan

Friday, March 20, 16:10

The March 20 session of the Armenia-EU Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation
Committee covered the issue of Armenian-Turkish normalization. Sajjad
Karim, Co-Chair of the Committee, asked the Armenian delegates
if Armenia can make some territorial concessions in exchange for
opening of the Turkish-Armenian border and establishment of diplomatic
relations.

In response, Armenian MP from ARF Dashnaktsutyun Party, said that
Yerevan comes out for normalization without any preconditions and
that territorial concessions are out of question. “Whom to make
concessions? To Azerbaijan? After all its provocations and numerous
sabotage attacks on the border and borderline villages? To make
concessions means to enhance the threat to Karabakh’s security”,
he said.

Vardanyan also pointed out that Turkey does not only keep denying the
Armenian Genocide but also organizes an event that coincides with the
Armenian Genocide centennial to draw the international community’s
attention away from the commemorative events in Yerevan.