No reconciliation with Turkey unless it recognizes Armenian genocide: Serzh Sargsyan
16.05.2011,
20:33
In an interview with Moscow News daily Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan said no reconciliation with Turkey is possible unless it recognizes the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide.
YEREVAN, May 16, /ARKA/. In an interview with Moscow News daily Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan said no reconciliation with Turkey is possible unless it recognizes the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide. He said those who are trying to portray attempts to establish relations with Turkey as reconciliation efforts are wrong.
‘Real reconciliation can be achieved only after repentance,” he said.
The president said when Armenia launched normalization process with Turkey many opponents used to argue that it would prevent еру international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
“Fortunately, those forecasts were wrong. The fact of the Armenian Genocide is indisputable and we must spare no effort to make Turkey recognize the Genocide. It is a struggle for justice and for security. It is eventually a struggle to prevent repetition of such crimes not only in our region, but throughout the world,” he emphasized
The Armenian-Turkish normalization process started three years ago led to the signing in Zurich in October 2009 of two Turkish-Armenian protocols on the full normalization of bilateral relations. But Turkey made their parliamentary ratification conditional on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This led Serzh Sargsyan to halt the protocols’ consideration by Armenian parliament.
The 1915 Armenia genocide was recognized by many countries. The first was Uruguay in 1965.
It was followed by Russia, France, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Canada, Chile, Argentina, 42 U.S. states. Armenian Genocide is recognized also by the Vatican, the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches. -0-
‘Real reconciliation can be achieved only after repentance,” he said.
The president said when Armenia launched normalization process with Turkey many opponents used to argue that it would prevent еру international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
“Fortunately, those forecasts were wrong. The fact of the Armenian Genocide is indisputable and we must spare no effort to make Turkey recognize the Genocide. It is a struggle for justice and for security. It is eventually a struggle to prevent repetition of such crimes not only in our region, but throughout the world,” he emphasized
The Armenian-Turkish normalization process started three years ago led to the signing in Zurich in October 2009 of two Turkish-Armenian protocols on the full normalization of bilateral relations. But Turkey made their parliamentary ratification conditional on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This led Serzh Sargsyan to halt the protocols’ consideration by Armenian parliament.
The 1915 Armenia genocide was recognized by many countries. The first was Uruguay in 1965.
It was followed by Russia, France, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Canada, Chile, Argentina, 42 U.S. states. Armenian Genocide is recognized also by the Vatican, the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches. -0-
