Armenia will never compromise over Genocide issue

02.05.2007
PanARMENIAN.Net

“The policy of establishing relations with Turkey without any preconditions makes sense for Armenia and gives it the diplomatic high ground. Improvement in Turkish-Armenian relations is going to need a deeper basis in civil society, and the establishment of diplomatic relations not only helps in official relations but also in fostering civil society contacts,” Van Krikorian, Co-chair of the Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Commission (TARC) said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net.

“Turkey has at various times put forward different conditions and changed those conditions as well as the emphasis on different conditions. At some points it has emphasized the need for Azerbaijan’s consent to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia and at other points it has raised issues of border recognition and dropping discussion of the Armenian genocide as conditions. Once again, it is worth noting the victory of nationalist politics over statesmanship. Ironically, the Treaties of Moscow and Kars which set the current border also contain requirements that Turkey give Armenia free access across Turkey. Turkey’s continuing breach of those treaty requirements is a clear indicator that it is not really interested in territorial issues but has manufactured issues to appease domestic political forces holding the country back. Similarly, even though Turkey’s interest in the Turkish presence on Cyprus is great, it has diplomatic relations with Greece. The problem is not Armenian policy, the problem is in implementation and by that I mean in countering the interests which are interested in maintaining or even exacerbating differences rather than solving them,” he said.

“One thing is clear: Armenia will never compromise over the Genocide recognition issue for the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict,” he underscored.

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.