Eurasianet Organization
April 22 2005

SOLEMN OCCASION: ARMENIA REMEMBERS
A EURSIANET PHOTO STORY BY JONATHAN ALPERYIE: 4/22/05

Armenia on April 24 will mark the 90th anniversary of what Yerevan
views as the systematic slaughter of about 1.5 million Armenians
living in what was then Ottoman Turkey.

The Armenian and Turkish governments continue to hold differing
interpretations of the events and circumstances surrounding the
mass killings and deportation of Armenians from 1915-23. President
Robert Kocharian’s administration in Yerevan has made it a top foreign
policy priority to secure international recognition of the tragedy as
genocide. Meanwhile, Turkish leaders say the mass deaths of Armenians
were linked to a partisan struggle amid the upheaval of World War I
and its aftermath.

In recent days, Armenia has received increasing international support
for its genocide recognition efforts. On April 22, the Russian Duma
adopted a resolution that called on the international community to
recognize the tragedy of 1915-23 as genocide, adding that it ranked
among the most “cruel” events in the 20th century, the Moscow News
website reported.

The Polish parliament, in a resolution adopted April 18, recognized
the events as genocide. On April 21, former Polish president Lech
Walesa, in Yerevan to attend commemoration events, said in a speech
that Turkey should have to admit its role in the Armenian genocide as
a condition for entry into the European Union. German officials have
likewise indicated they will urge Turkey to recognize the events of
1915-23 as genocide.

Turkish officials have criticized Poland’s “genocide” resolution. At
the same time, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul on April 22
called on Armenian officials to “respond to goodwill gestures” aimed
at normalizing bilateral relations, the Anatolia news agency reported.

“DIVERSITY IS OUR STRENGTH” – GEORGIAN PRESIDENT MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI
Theresa Freese 4/22/05

Eurasianet Organization
April 22 2005

Recent protests by ethnic Armenians, Georgia’s largest ethnic minority,
against the closure of a Russian military base in the predominantly
Armenian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti have helped underscore the
difficulties faced by the Saakashvili administration as it promotes
inter-ethnic accord in the country. In a recent interview, Georgian
President Mikheil Saakashvili outlined the government’s economic
development plans for Samtskhe-Javakheti, and stressed that “diversity
is our strength.”

Armenians constitute almost 8 percent of Georgia’s 4.5 million
population – a statistic that has spurred demands by some Armenian
community leaders for attention equal to that given Georgia’s smaller
Ossetian and Abkhaz minority populations. Most ethnic Armenians
are concentrated in two areas – in and around Tbilisi and in the
Samtskhe-Javakheti region. The over 113,000 in Samtskhe-Javakheti –
most of them living in two districts, Ninotsminda and Akhalkalaki —
comprise a majority of the remote and impoverished region’s overall
population. Some analysts suggest discontent among the so-called
Javakheti Armenians could pose a potential threat to Georgia’s goal
of territorial integration. [For background see the Eurasia Insight
archive].

Disputes over Russia’s 62nd military base at Akhalkalaki, one of two
Russsian military installations remaining on Georgian territory,
drive much of the concerns. The base is located at the heart of
the Javakheti-Armenian community and serves as the region’s driving
economic force. In March, Javakheti Armenians held demonstrations
in Akhalkalaki to protest Georgia’s demand that the base be closed,
arguing that the Russian military presence provides them with both
economic security and defense against Turkey, a traditional Armenian
enemy. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive].
The Armenian community in Tbilisi is not playing as large a role in
opposing a quick Russian withdrawal.

Talks held on April 14-15 with Russian diplomats in Tbilisi failed to
reach an agreement on a mutually acceptable withdrawal timeline. Each
side has blamed the other for the failure of the negotiations. [For
background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Saakashvili spoke to a EurasiaNet correspondent during a helicopter
ride from Samtskhe-Javakheti to Tbilisi. He had traveled to Borjomi,
one of the six districts that comprise Samtskhe-Javakheti, where he
had opened a new park. During the interview, Saakashvili said Georgia
is promoting a “phased withdrawal” for the base with no concrete
completion date-as long as the withdrawal starts immediately. He added,
however, that the Russians are looking for a set timeframe around 2009,
the date of Georgia’s next presidential election. “Basically, they
are waiting for the next Georgian election,” Saakashvili said. “We
say ‘OK’ to 2009, but let’s start now so [that] by the time of the
elections most of the troops are gone.”

Repeating earlier promises, Saakashvili stated that the government
plans to make sure that the base’s dissolution does not undermine
the local employment climate. Saakashvili said that “formally” 3,000
Russians are stationed at the base, though he believed the real figure
was much lower. Local employees, he added, number 340 ethnic Armenians,
including soldiers. On top of this, a “few thousand” others are linked
to the base by selling products to soldiers, including wheat, fuel,
and spare parts.

“Everybody who serves there will be given a job locally,” Saakashvili
said. “If there are enough people locally, we won’t bring others to
the region. Every qualified soldier can stay . . . Those who want
to stay will keep their apartments. The base’s infrastructure can
be used for social infrastructure for the local population. We don’t
want to confiscate or sell it.”

As part of an assistance program to aid the transition and spark small
business development, Saakashvili said, long-term bank credits ranging
from $3,000-$5,000 would be provided to individual contractors over
the next 20 to 25 years.

The president also advocated dual citizenship for ethnic Armenians
working on the Russian base who have taken on Russian citizenship,
a proposal also made for South Ossetia and Abkhazia. “They won’t face
discrimination,” he stressed. Flights to Moscow, a bi-annual perk
provided by Russia to base employees, would possibly be replaced by
local bus trips or flights (pending restoration of Samtskhe-Javakheti’s
airport) to Tbilisi, he suggested.

But the base is only the tip of the iceberg for this isolated region.
During a March 13 demonstration to preserve the base, Javakheti
Armenians also called for roads to link Akhalkalaki with Armenia
and the rest of Georgia, promotion of language and cultural rights,
stronger local self government, improved energy access, and the
establishment of a customs unit at the Armenia border. Saakashvili
characterized the political ferment underpinning these demands as
“normal” and said: “The local population has social demands and
cultural demands. The state exists to give them assurances.”

Although speculation has grown lately that problems associated with
the Javakheti Armenians could develop into a “pre-conflict situation,”
Saakashvili downplayed the notion. “I don’t think they will cause any
problems,” he said. “We should solve problems for them. They are our
essence and should not be wasted.”

To respond to the community’s demands, Saakashvili said he is promoting
an “incentives-based approach,” that includes transferring some public
services, such as the passport department, away from the regional seat
at Akhaltsikhe to Akhalkalaki (a demand made by community leaders),
and giving local government responsibility for budget management.

Road projects could prove a crucial variable for the success of this
project, and in connecting this poverty-stricken region with the
rest of Georgia. Georgian officials want to tap into the US-sponsored
Millennium Challenge Account to fund a several-million-dollar project
to repave the 320 kilometers of road linking the Armenian border
region with Akhalkalaki, Tbilisi and Kars, Turkey. Work could begin
on the project as early as September. However, observers say that
could be years before work is completed.

“Resources are scarce and everything must be rebuilt,” Saakashvili
said. A prospective Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi railway line, which could
further boost economic development, as well as regional integration,
he termed a “more difficult” issue. Armenians believe that the
route bypasses Armenia as part of Turkey’s economic blockade of the
country following Armenia’s war with Azerbaijan over the breakaway
region of Nagorno-Karabakh. [For background see the Eurasia Insight
archive]. “The Turks must do their part,” he said, adding that Georgia
has “strong interest in the railroad.”

Language could prove a more difficult barrier to integration. Most
Javakheti Armenians speak Russian before Armenian. Few are fluent in
Georgian. Families choose between sending their children to Moscow
or Yerevan-before Tbilisi-to receive a higher education. Many locals
say that their inability to speak Georgian has prevented them from
finding well-paying jobs.

Saakashvili conceded that the region is lacking in Georgian language
specialists because few Georgians or Georgian-speaking and trained
language teachers reside in or near Ninotsminda or Akhalkalaki. “We
are trying to give them incentives to learn Georgian -not to force
them,” he said. In contrast to other ethnic minority groups in Georgia,
including Ossetians and Abkhaz, Saakashvili said Javakheti Armenians
are “enthusiastic” about learning Georgian.

Nonetheless, state-sanctioned protection of minority rights also
feeds into the mix. “We need some kind of affirmative action,”
Saakashvili said. “[Minorities] should feel that their children
have equal opportunities-that they are citizens of the country.” As
part of that message, the government has recently erected throughout
Tbilisi billboards with the slogan “Celebrating Georgia’s Diversity”
in English, and with similar messages in Russian and Georgian. The
Russian version states “Georgia is Our Motherland,” while the Georgia
translation reads “United We Stand.”

In the end, Saakashvili believes, it could be just a matter of
time for that message to become reality, as well as a matter of
asserting Georgian statehood. “In 10 to 20 more years,” he said,
Samtskhe-Javakheti “will feel entirely integrated, and the former
[Soviet] empire [will be] entirely gone.”

Editor’s Note: Theresa Freese is a freelance journalist and political
analyst who has been conducting research on unresolved conflicts in
the South Caucasus since September 2003.

Marchers Seek Recognition of Armenian Genocide

KXTV, CA
April 22 2005

Walkers concluded a 215-mile march from Fresno to the State Capitol
Thursday to bring attention to the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians,
a event that went mostly unrecognized when it occurred 90 years ago.

>>From 1915 to 1923, the Turkish Ottoman Empire was responsible for
the deaths of approximately 1.5 million Armenians. In a fervor of
nationalism, first the Young Turks political party and then the Turkish
Nationalists systematically exterminated or deported Armenians. When
the genocide began, 2.5 million Armenians were living within the
borders of the Ottoman Empire.

The “March for Humanity” began April 2 in Fresno, home to one of
the largest populations of Armenian-Americans in the United States.
Participants in the march and State Capitol rally said they wanted
to thank the California state legislature and 36 other states for
recognizing the atrocities that occurred. Thursday afternoon Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a proclamation designating April 24 as a
“Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.” On April 24, 1915 some
200 Armenian community leaders were rounded up by Turkish forces and
sent to prison to be executed.

Descendants recounted the years of abduction, torture, and slaughter
of men, women and children. Many Armenians were sent to the desert
of Syria to starve to death. One of them was the relative of Father
Yeghia Hairabedian. “My Great Aunt was one of them,” he said. “When
she was two years old she died on the death march, starving and
begging for food.”

The genocide escaped world-wide attention and action in part because
most of the killing occurred during World War I. Turkey was allied with
Germany at the time. Some have accused the United States government
of ignoring the genocide because of close ties forged with Turkey
after World War I.

Armenian-Americans want the U.S. to formally recognize the genocide
of Armenians. Turkey has consistently refused to acknowledge its
responsibility for the mass killings.

An estimated one million plus Armenians live in the United States.
California is home to about half of them, with large populations
in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Glendale and Fresno. Many of them
arrived in California in the late 1800s and later to escape Turkish
domination and atrocities. The area around Fresno provided a climate
and landscape similar to that of their native land in Western Asia.

Calcutta Telegraph, India
April 23 2005

Phoenix from urban decay
SUBHRO SAHA

What stands dull and decrepit today, in the heart of Park Street,
could be busy and beautiful in another 18 months.

Heritage hotel and landscaped pedestrian plaza, boutique brands and
bookstore, open-air theatre and rooftop exhibition space, sunken
parking lot and rolling art gallery.

Shades of Leicester Square or a mini Centre Georges Pompidou is what
the 95-year-old Park Mansions promises to evoke after a restoration
and adaptive reuse initiative undertaken by the Apeejay Surrendra
Group (see box).

“We want to create a destination that will give people of all ages
and calling enough reasons to come to Park Street,” stresses Jit
Paul, adviser to the group and the brain behind the revival scheme,
which got the heritage panel nod on Thursday evening.

Constructed by Armenian jute merchant Thaddeus Mesrope Thaddeus in
1910, Park Mansions was acquired by Paul from estate managers Talbot
and Company, and housed the French cultural centre premises, Alliance
Francaise, besides Sky Room, Bombay Photo and Rajniklal.

Alliance was ravaged by a fire, Sky Room downed shutters and the
building – flanked by Park Street, Free School Street and Royd
Street, and hence, with a regal triple frontage – now lies in an
advanced state of urban decay.

“We plan to repair the crumbling edifice and restore it as a vibrant,
iconic rendezvous for residents, with a basket of activities,”
explains architect Dulal Mukherjee, anchoring the design solution.

The five entry points to Park Mansions, built in “old colonial style
with an East European aura”, will be given a facelift with grand
marble lobbies, modern elevators and stairways. A quaint heritage
hotel built across four levels and one-bedroom studio apartments will
complement exclusive brands housed in the retail quarter.

The piece de resistance of the makeover model will be the interactive
zone and pedestrian plaza, created across the 50,000 sq ft central
courtyard, now essentially used as parking space.

“It will be very contemporary and I plan to use deconstruction
architecture to create a feel of unlimited space with a strong
pedestrian axis and totally segregated vehicular traffic,” says
Mukherjee.

With a blend of hard and soft landscaping, the well of the mansion
will throb with activity, revolving around performing arts and music
and spilling onto the rooftop arena. A twin-level sunken parking lot
will hold over 100 vehicles with access along the eastern corridor.

“For two decades, we allowed Park Mansions to disintegrate. Now, we
are determined to make amends and do something positive that would
energise the region and enthuse others,” says Paul, underlining the
need for a holistic restoration drive across the city, instead of
piecemeal efforts.

The Apeejay Surrendra Group plans to retain T3 – The Tea Table at its
present location, across the new-look Flurys. While most of the
ground-level retail tenants like Rajniklal, GKB Opticals, Burlingtons
and Gupta Brothers will stay where they are, talks are on with a host
of new, high-profile new entrants like Citizen.

Rally marks Armenian Genocide’s 90th anniversary

22.04.2005  18:25    

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – A rally, organized by the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation (ARF) and dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, was held on Friday near the Sports and Concerts Complex in
Yerevan. Following the rally, the participants marched to the Memorial
of the Armenian Genocide Victims.

Speaking at the rally, ARF Bureau member and National Assembly
Vice-speaker Vahan Hovhannisian said: “Today, the united will of the
Armenian people is expressed. Armenia is divided into Western and
Eastern for others; for us it is one homeland, and we will take back
the part that is under Turkish occupation.”

Armen Rustamian, ARF Armenia Supreme Body representative, in turn
said it is time for us to explore our history and make the world
recognize it.

Rubina Pirumian of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA),
Vachagan Zakarian, representing Artsakh, Aida Hovhannisian from Iran,
Valery Abanian from Javakhk, Madeleine Dalfond-Guiral, former member
of the Canadian Parliament, and other Diaspora figures also addressed
the participants of the rally.

–Boundary_(ID_2+wYHwEPw65Q3v+pU9Js9w)–

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Armenian Assembly of America
50 North La Cienega Blvd., Suite 202
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
(310) 360-0091 phone

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 22, 2005
CONTACT: Lena Kaimian

Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Armenian Genocide Legislation

Los Angeles, CA – Armenian Assembly of America Western Office Chairman
Richard Mushegain, Bay Area Regional Council Chair Suzanne Abnous,
and Western Office Director Lena Kaimian were part of a pan-community
delegation attending Armenian Genocide 90th Anniversary Commemorative
activities in Sacramento on April 21.

Kaimian was among several community leaders that were invited to
witness California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sign SB 424 into law.
The new law, originally authored by State Senator Charles Poochigian,
permanently designates April 24 as “Day of Remembrance of the Armenian
Genocide.”

During the signing ceremony Kaimian thanked the Governor for his
continuous support of the Armenian American community in California.
Armenian Assembly of America Western Office Chairman Richard Mushegain
commented, “The Armenian-American community is very appreciative
of Governor Schwarzenegger’s efforts to commemorate the Armenian
Genocide during the 90th anniversary this crime against humanity.
The Governor has become one of the leaders in the movement for
reaffirming the Armenian Genocide. We look forward to working with
him and other leaders in preventing future genocides.”

Prior to the signing ceremony, the Armenian Assembly representatives
along with members of the pan-community delegation witnessed the
unanimous passage of Genocide legislation in both the State Senate
and the Assembly. Throughout the day the Assembly delegation met with
numerous members of the California Senate including Senators Poochigian
(R-Fresno), Scott (D-Altadena), Simitian (D-Palo Alto) and Speier
(D-Hillsborough). The delegation also met with California State
Assembly members Aghazarian (R-Stockton), Frommer (D-Los Angeles),
Liu (D- La Canada), and Villines (R-Clovis).

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness
of Armenian issues. It is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt membership
organization.

Daily Star – Lebanon
April 23 2005

Armenians to mark ‘the Great Slaughter’ with low-key events
History, Memory, identity to be marked on Sunday

By James Fitz-Morris
Special to The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Armenians across Lebanon will attend special church services
and other commemorative events Sunday to mark Mets Eghern – the Great
Slaughter. This year is the 90th anniversary of the arrest of close
to 200 Armenian community leaders – an event Armenians say was the
beginning of an organized campaign to drive their people out of the
region and left more than one million dead.

In Armenia, a weeklong series of events will be capped off with a
massive march, which organizers say will draw thousands of diaspora
Armenians.

In Lebanon, however, due to the current political climate, Armenian
community leaders have opted for low-key events to mark the anniversary
and no major demonstrations.

Instead, Armenians will honor the anniversary by thinking about their
links to the land of their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents
– and the lives they have made for themselves in their new homelands.

“If someone asks me if I am Armenian or Lebanese, I say to them,
‘Are you Arab or are you Lebanese?’ They are both, just as I am both
Armenian and Lebanese. I see no problem with that,” says Ari, whose
grandparents were among tens of thousands of Armenians who came to
Lebanon in the early 1920s.

He adds: “Like in the United States, people are all of many different
origins, but are all the same nationality.”

Houry Jerejian, chairperson of the Lebanon-based Armenian Educational
Benevolent Union (AEBU), says: “We, as a community of diaspora,
want to keep Armenians Armenian.”

Ari, who declined to give his family name, says he gave his child
an Armenian name – adding if he has another, he or she will also be
given an Armenian name.

According to Ari, “the issue isn’t about being narrow minded, it’s
about safeguarding one’s identity.”

AEBU supports efforts to provide education for underprivileged children
and low-cost health-care services for the community at large.

However, the community does a lot of work to support not only one
another here in Lebanon, but those back in Armenia as well.

“We do a lot of work, especially after the earthquake (in Armenia in
1995),” says Jerejian. “Among the many projects we helped to build
a factory that makes artificial limbs.”

There are an estimated five million to six million Armenians living
abroad – compared to the close to three million living in Armenia.

The Armenian diaspora has funded such projects as the construction of
a new airport, the revival of cultural institutions such as museums
and an orchestra and opened factories to create jobs.

Many in the community also make frequent trips back to Armenia,
including Ari who says he has helped in economic development projects
back in the land of his grandparents – but he says he is unsure if
he would move back there permanently.

“It depends on the circumstances,” he says. “I can’t say that I will
definitely go back, but I can’t say that I will definitely stay.
Everybody has to decide for themselves.”

Armenians maintain that up to 1.5 million of their people were
massacred between 1915 and 1917, an atrocity commonly known as the
Armenian Genocide.

At the time, the Ottoman Empire – Turkey’s predecessor – was heading
toward collapse as the World War I was raging.

Turkey maintains no such genocide took place, admitting there were
massacres but saying they occurred on both sides during a bloody war.

Most countries and international humanitarian organizations have
recognized the Armenian genocide – including Lebanon.

Acknowledging Armenian Genocide Necessary for Turkish Democracy
by Mavi Zambak

Asia News, Italy
April 22 2005

Antakya (AsiaNews) — “For Turkey, acknowledging the Armenian genocide
would be an important step on the way of full democratisation and
would increase the country’s international prestige,” this according
to Ghagik Bagdassarian, Armenian Ambassador to Italy, who like all
Armenians after so many decades still insists that the world not forget
and that Turkey admit its responsibilities in the extermination of
countless Armenians.

April 24 marks the 90th anniversary of the start of the mass slaughter
that led to the death of up to 1.5 million Armenians between 1915
and 1923.

Turkey has always rejected that claim, arguing instead that 300,000
Armenians and thousands of Turks died in a ‘civilian uprising’ during
the First World War when the former rebelled against Ottoman rule.

Any accusations of ethnic cleansing are for the Turkish government
“an invention that weakens the nation”.

The obstinate negationist camp in Turkey is less solid than it once
was; an ‘Armenian question’ has become a public issue.

In view of Turkey’s application to join the European Union, many
national parliaments in France, Canada and Switzerland have urged
Ankara to officially acknowledge that genocide did take place.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyp Erdogan has responded recently
by urging historians to examine the country’s archives in order to
establish the truth.

“Teams of historians from both sides should conduct studies in these
archives,” he said, adding that “[w]e do not want future generations
to have a difficult life because of hatred and resentment.”

In the meantime, the issue has become highly controversial in
Turkey because the local press has given space to voices trying to
convince public opinion that Europe is behind the proposed historical
investigation, which for them amounts to blackmail to satisfy unfounded
Armenian claims and demands.

However, a small group of Turkish intellectuals have started to raise
doubts about the official view of what happened and in doing so have
raised a hornet’s nest for themselves. For example, Turkish writer
Orhan Pamuk has received death threats after admitting to a German
publication that “a million Armenians were killed in Turkey”.

For Ambassador Bagdassarian, any historical judgement must “be limited
to those who were effectively responsible for the extermination”
(i.e. Turkish leaders of the time). He also noted that Armenians have
no intention of “blaming the Turkish people”.

Armenians, especially the 80,000 who still call Turkey home, only
want the genocide inflicted on their people stop being treated as a
“nameless crime”, and be instead acknowledged as a deep scar on the
whole of humanity.

As some survivors point out, “90 years are just a short period of
time if we haven’t learnt any lesson from it, if that genocide was
but a rehearsal of other massacres, other holocausts”.

Those years “are nothing if today people still try to forget or
place economic or political interests before truth and justice. The
sacrifice of those martyrs would be worthless if nothing is written
about them in history books, if the anniversary is just another day,
if what happened is justified and if we become accomplices with the
criminals of those years.”

French and Armenian presidents lay wreath for Armenians massacred in Ottoman Turkey

AP Worldstream
Apr 22, 2005

The French and Armenian presidents laid a wreath Friday at a Paris
monument commemorating the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire.

French President Jacques Chirac welcomed Robert Kocharian of Armenia
at the Elysee Palace with a hug. The two held talks for an hour before
driving to the nearby monument inaugurated in 2003 on the banks of
the Seine River.

This weekend, Armenia marks the 90th anniversary of what it calls the
genocide perpetrated by Turkey between 1915 and 1917, killing up to
1.5 million Armenians. Turkey rejects the claim, saying the number of
deaths is inflated and that the victims were killed in civil unrest
during the collapse of the empire.

The French parliament officially recognized the killings as a genocide
in 2001, one of several moves that strained ties between Paris and
Ankara. Last year, Chirac told Turkey it would have to recognize
the mass killings as genocide if it wanted to become a member of the
European Union, insisting the French would otherwise vote Turkey out
in a referendum.

The Armenian community in Paris hailed Friday’s ceremony as an
“extremely important” gesture recognizing the Armenian genocide,
according to a statement by the Committee for the Defense of the
Armenian Cause.

Armenian foreign minister calls on Turkey to face history

Noyan Tapan news agency
22 Apr 05

Yerevan, 22 April: The Armenians and Turks must together face history
in order to surmount its legacy and accept the past. This was the main
message of the international forum “Ultimate crime, ultimate challenge:
genocide and human rights”, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan
has said.

In his concluding remarks, the minister said that a bilateral process
is necessary to that end. The Turks must be able to call a spade
a spade and acknowledge the fact that the 1915 events are called
“genocide”. “This is inevitable and obvious.”

Oskanyan also expressed his surprise at the lack of awareness about
Armenian-Turkish relations even among Turkish journalists. A Turkish
journalist who interviewed him did not know that the Armenian-Turkish
border was open on the Armenian side and that Armenia had no
preconditions for establishing diplomatic relations with Turkey,
Oskanyan said. Acknowledging the genocide is also not a precondition,
the minister said. “We are ready for dialogue with Turkey. We are
neighbours and undoubtedly will continue to live side by side,”
Oskanyan said.

“We want to have open borders, trade, be represented in the capitals
and so on,” he said.

Vardan Oskanyan also recalled another misconception which is widespread
in Turkey – the view that Armenia is against Turkey’s membership of the
European Union. “It is not correct. The best option for Armenia would
be a European Turkey which complies with European standards,” he said.