Many in Europe do not agree that tragic pages of history should be left to historians: Armenian FM says

YEREVAN, January 30. /ARKA/. Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandian said that many of his European colleagues do not agree that the tragic pages of history should be left to historians. He said this in a televised interview with four leading Armenian TV channels in response to a question about the cool reaction to the official London to French Senate’s bill criminalizing the denial of the Armenian genocide.

"We need to have in mind the context in which such statements are made. The results of the meetings which I have with my colleagues from different countries, including in Europe, indicate that many do not agree that these issues should be left to historians," said Nalbandian.

He recalled his latest meeting with Lithuanian foreign minister, who in response to the same question said that history is knocking at the door of modernity and that door must be open, otherwise no stability and peace can be achieved.

Edward Nalbandian denied also rumors about secret negotiations between Yerevan and Ankara on the normalization of their relations. According to him, there are no talks for the simple reason because Turkey is not ready for practical steps. 

"But one thing is clear: Turkey can not sign agreements and not respect them, not ratify them. I have repeatedly said and I repeat now - a key principle of diplomacy is that treaties must be respected," said Nalbandian. 

In 2009 October Armenia and Turkey signed two protocols committing to establish diplomatic relations and open the Turkish-Armenian border which Ankara closed in 1993 in a show of support for Azerbaijan. The Turkish government repeatedly made clear that it will not ensure the protocols' ratification by Turkey's parliament before a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict acceptable to Baku. Yerevan rejects this linkage, saying that it contradicts the letter and the spirit of the protocols. 

Citing the Turkish precondition, Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan suspended the process of Armenian parliamentary ratification of the protocols in April 2009. But he stopped short of formally annulling them. -0-