YEREVAN, DECEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS: Two members of the Armenian parliament met with the chairman of the Turkish parliament when they were attending a meeting of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) in Turkish Antalya on November 23-25.
Vladimir Badalian and Mekhak Mkhitarian, the two Armenian lawmakers, said today in Yerevan the 30-minute meeting had been initiated by Bullent Arinc, the chairman of Turkish parliament, who spoke about the obstacles preventing the opening of the border with Armenia and lifting its decade-long blockade.
The Armenians quoted Arinc as saying that he regretted the tragic events that had occurred at the beginning of the 20-th century but disagreed with Armenians’ classification that it was a genocide. He said Armenians use the term excessively to portray it in a manner that suits their interests, which cannot be accepted by Turkey.
Another obstacle preventing normalization of ties with Armenia, according to Bullent Arinc is Armenia’s unwillingness to pull out its troops from the occupied Azeri regions. Incidentally, he accused the OSCE Minsk group chairmen of inactivity, adding also that Turkey stands ready to get involved in the Karabagh conflict regulation process.
Arinc said Turkey wants friendly and warm relations with all its neighbors, including also Armenia, which was hailed by Armenian lawmakers, who said Armenia too is interested in such relations.
Vladimir Badalian said they argued that prior to normalization of relations both countries should establish diplomatic relations. They also disagreed with Arinc’s arguments that the OSCE Minsk group has failed to carry out its mission, saying they could not see any other international peace brokers that could work more effectively.
Armenians also argued that the return of Azerbaijani territories could not be put forth as a precondition for normalization of ties, emphasizing the importance of all-level contacts between representatives of the two nations. They also said that though the international recognition of the genocide is on the agenda of Armenia’s foreign policy Yerevan does not make its recognition by Turkey as a condition for normal ties, adding also that in general Armenia is not against Turkey’s EU membership.
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