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Lawmaker hopes Speaker’s Ankara visit for PABSEC will contribute to normalization with Turkey

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 11:40,

YEREVAN, MAY 10, ARMENPRESS. The installation of the Nemesis monument in Yerevan was discussed between Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan and his Turkish counterpart in Ankara where Simonyan was on a visit for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) meeting, MP Babken Tunyan said on May 10.

Tunyan, a member of the Armenian delegation to PABSEC, said at a press conference that numerous other issues were discussed.

Another Armenian delegate to PABSEC, Gevorg Papoyan, stressed that BSEC is an economic organization but because of conflicts between member states the participants are mostly discussing political affairs.

Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan also participated in the session.

Tunyan highlighted that Simonyan’s visit to Turkey is a significant event. “And we hope that it will contribute to the normalization of relations with Turkey despite all the difficult problems and challenges facing us,” he said.

Asked by reporters whether or not the Nemesis monument issue was discussed at the meeting, Tunyan said: “The issue relating to the Nemesis monument became subject to discussion during the meeting between Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan and his Turkish counterpart Mustafa Şentop, where we also participated. The Turkish side said that they don’t understand how that monument was opened on the backdrop of the efforts for normalization of relations. Mr. Simonyan answered by saying that if there is the will for normalization of relations, we don’t believe that such events could become an obstacle for normalization because there’ve been, are, and will perhaps be far more significant obstacles,” Tunyan said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said that Turkey would take action if the monument isn’t removed. But Tunyan said that the Turkish side did not communicate such approach to them in Turkey. During the session Tunyan was elected Deputy President of PABSEC.

Nemesis was unveiled in Yerevan on April 25 to honor the participants of Operation Nemesis, a 1920s program of assassinations of Ottoman perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide.

In response, Turkey closed its airspace to Armenian flights heading to a third destination and threatened to take further actions if it isn’t removed.

On May 9, Yerevan city authorities announced that they have no intention of removing the monument.

Jane Topchian: