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NALBANDIAN: 'GENOCIDE' RESOLUTIONS NOT A REMEDY
Today's Zaman
Nov 10 2008
Turkey
Armenia wants to maintain good ties with neighboring Turkey and
believes resolutions passed in other countries' parliaments supporting
Armenian claims of genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire during
World War I will not help dialogue between the two countries, Armenia's
foreign minister has reportedly said.
Eduard Nalbandian was speaking at a conference in Stockholm, NTV
reported. "Let's say 20 countries have passed such resolutions. What
would happen if 50 more do the same?" Nalbandian asked in his
speech. He said Armenians had strong convictions that the genocide had
taken place but that a focus on this was not a remedy to ease strained
relations with Turkey. "We want to remain friends with Turkey, with
whom we are bound to stay neighbors forever," he was quoted as saying.
Nalbandian's remarks appear to differ radically from the rhetoric of
the Armenian diaspora, which is pushing for the passage of genocide
resolutions in the parliaments of foreign countries. The US-Armenian
lobby is working hard to persuade the US Congress to pass a non-binding
resolution to that effect and is hoping that President-elect Barack
Obama will keep his campaign promise to support the initiative in
January, when he takes over the post from the outgoing George W. Bush.
Turkish analysts hope that dialogue with Armenia will be a major
blow to diaspora efforts to secure anti-Turkish resolutions in
other parliaments. President Abdullah Gul paid a taboo-breaking
visit to Armenia in September to watch a World Cup qualifying match
between the national teams of the two countries. Diplomats have been
reportedly holding secret talks on ways to normalize relations since
the landmark meeting.
Nalbandian also had a trilateral meeting with his Turkish and
Azerbaijani counterparts later in September, on the sidelines of UN
General Assembly in New York. The three foreign ministers discussed
the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey closed its border and
severed its ties with Armenia in 1993 to protest Armenia's occupation
of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan. This dispute and the row over
genocide claims are a major obstacle for dialogue between Turkey and
Armenia. Ankara denies the claims of genocide and says the killings
came when the Ottoman Empire was trying to quell an Armenian revolt,
a revolt assisted by Russian forces, for an independent state in
eastern Anatolia.
Nalbandian said in Stockholm that Nagorno-Karabakh can, in principle,
declare independence, saying this would not be against global norms
and trends. Armenia says it is ready for dialogue with Turkey without
conditions.
Today's Zaman
Nov 10 2008
Turkey
Armenia wants to maintain good ties with neighboring Turkey and
believes resolutions passed in other countries' parliaments supporting
Armenian claims of genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire during
World War I will not help dialogue between the two countries, Armenia's
foreign minister has reportedly said.
Eduard Nalbandian was speaking at a conference in Stockholm, NTV
reported. "Let's say 20 countries have passed such resolutions. What
would happen if 50 more do the same?" Nalbandian asked in his
speech. He said Armenians had strong convictions that the genocide had
taken place but that a focus on this was not a remedy to ease strained
relations with Turkey. "We want to remain friends with Turkey, with
whom we are bound to stay neighbors forever," he was quoted as saying.
Nalbandian's remarks appear to differ radically from the rhetoric of
the Armenian diaspora, which is pushing for the passage of genocide
resolutions in the parliaments of foreign countries. The US-Armenian
lobby is working hard to persuade the US Congress to pass a non-binding
resolution to that effect and is hoping that President-elect Barack
Obama will keep his campaign promise to support the initiative in
January, when he takes over the post from the outgoing George W. Bush.
Turkish analysts hope that dialogue with Armenia will be a major
blow to diaspora efforts to secure anti-Turkish resolutions in
other parliaments. President Abdullah Gul paid a taboo-breaking
visit to Armenia in September to watch a World Cup qualifying match
between the national teams of the two countries. Diplomats have been
reportedly holding secret talks on ways to normalize relations since
the landmark meeting.
Nalbandian also had a trilateral meeting with his Turkish and
Azerbaijani counterparts later in September, on the sidelines of UN
General Assembly in New York. The three foreign ministers discussed
the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey closed its border and
severed its ties with Armenia in 1993 to protest Armenia's occupation
of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan. This dispute and the row over
genocide claims are a major obstacle for dialogue between Turkey and
Armenia. Ankara denies the claims of genocide and says the killings
came when the Ottoman Empire was trying to quell an Armenian revolt,
a revolt assisted by Russian forces, for an independent state in
eastern Anatolia.
Nalbandian said in Stockholm that Nagorno-Karabakh can, in principle,
declare independence, saying this would not be against global norms
and trends. Armenia says it is ready for dialogue with Turkey without
conditions.