French President Chirac meets with Armenian Patriarch Katekin II

Monday, October 02, 2006
Hurriet

French President Jazques Chirac met with the leader of the Armenian Orthodox Church yesterday on the final day of his two day visit to Armenia. Chirac and Patriarch Karekin II came together to take a tour of Armenia's Etchmiadzine Cathedral yesterday, with Chirac writing the following in the cathedral's guest book:

"In memory of my visit to the spiritual heart of the Armenians, and the touching visit I have had with the great Armenian people......"

At a visit to a memorial for the so-called Armenian genocide in Yerevan two days ago, Chirac was asked by a reporter whether he thought Turkey should be forced to recognize Armenian claims of genocide as a pre-condition for EU membership. The French president responded:

"If we are going to speak honestly, yes, I do believe this is necessary."

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.