Armenia’s President Robert Kocharyan said that his country has been an ally with Russia because it fears Turkey.
Speaking to the French daily Le Figaro before his visit to France, Kocharyan said that the three countries in Caucasus — Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia — were not able to provide security for themselves without the help from the `big countries.’ Therfore, he added, they have to allow the deployment of Russian soldiers in Armenian territories.
Calling on the international community to recognize so-called Armenaina genocide he commented: “The international community must pronounce this tragedy. It should have done so a long time ago. We do not expect the international community to confirm its existence but to make a judgement on this historical reality.
Kocharyan also indicated that it was not legally possible to demand territory from Turkey because of so-called genocide allegation, but added that so-called genocide victims, personally can demand concession from Turkey.
There has been tension between Turkey and France, since France accepted so-called genocide by law, which prompted Turkey to ban French firms from defense contracts worth billions of francs.
Kocharyan said he saw France’s vote as a step towards encouraging similar measures from other countries, notably the United States, which dropped a “genocide resolution” in October after then-President Bill Clinton warned the measure would hurt U.S. security interests.
Kocharyan hopes to win moral support from French leaders and investment from industrialists with the first official visit to France since his country’s 3.7 million people gained independence in 1991.
His trip followed a shorter visit last month when he held talks with the president of Azerbaijan on ending their 13-year conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region at a Paris meeting with French President Jacques Chirac.
Kocharyan told Le Figaro that it was difficult to say how many meetings it would take to reach a deal on the disputed region, but that the two sides were making progress.
“I can say this, we are advancing with small steps, but in the right direction,” he said.
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