Armenian Foreign Minister calls on Turkey to stay away from Karabakh settlement

YEREVAN, January 30. /ARKA/. In a televised interview with several leading Armenian TV channels Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandian called on Turkey to stay out of the Karabakh settlement, if it really wants to help the peace process.

In comments on his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu’s statement that France must be removed from the OSCE Minsk Group for the passage of a bill criminalizing the denial of the Armenian genocide, or otherwise Turkey must also be involved in THE Karabakh peace process, Nalbandian called it an ultimatum.

"As for these categorical statements, particularly regarding Turkey’s involvement in the settlement of the Karabakh problem as part of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs’ efforts, we have expressed our position: if Turkey really wants to help the process it should keep as far from it as possible," he said.

According to him, when the door is closed for Turkey it tries to enter through the window.  He said during the latest summit of Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani presidents in the Russian Sochi Azeri president, like his Armenian counterpart, spoke in favor of continued mediation of France, Russia and the United States in the same status until the establishment of peace in the region. He described allegations that France can not be impartial in the Karabakh settlement process after the adoption of the genocide law as ‘meaningless statements,’ saying the genocide bill is not directed against any specific country. 

He said Turkey’s exaggerated reaction to the bill, insulting France and the countries which have recognized the Genocide, and the Armenian people that survived that tragedy, as well as provocative remarks about the Armenian Diaspora, once again confirm the importance and the need for the French law. Nalbandian said the more countries recognize the Armenian genocide the more actively Turkey will be denying it.

‘The vast majority of those people who for some reason vote or oppose the recognition of the Armenian genocide in this or that country recognize the fact of the genocide. Turkey says the opposite and pushes itself in a trap, " said Nalbandian.

The Armenian genocide is recognized by many states. The first was Uruguay that did it in 1965. Other countries are Russia, France, Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Canada, Venezuela, Argentina, as well as 42 U.S. states. The Armenian Genocide is recognized by the Vatican, the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches. -0-