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Armenia demands recognition of 1915-17 genocide from Turkey.

ST. PETERSBURG, April 14 (Itar-Tass) – Artur Bagdasaryan, the speaker of the Armenian National Assembly, told a news conference held on the results of the 25th plenary session of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly in St. Petersburg on Thursday that Turkey should recognize the fact of genocide against ethnic Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1917.

Bagdasaryan commented the remarks of Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul who said on April the 13th that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan had sent a letter to Armenian President Robert Kocharyan with a proposal to create a bilateral expert commission to investigate the 1915 genocide against the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire.

Bagdasaryan reiterated the position of the Armenian authorities aimed at normalizing the country’s relations with Turkey and other neighbors in the region.

The discussion of the 1915 events has been on for a long time. “I think that all of us should condemn those crimes. Many countries have already condemned the genocide against the Armenians,” Bagdasaryan stressed. “Turkey must recognize the fact of committing genocide against the Armenians without fail, but this subject shouldn’t prevent the development of relations between the two countries,” he added.

The speaker of the Armenian parliament said that his country favored the development of normal partnership with Turkey. “We want to hold a joint discussion on all the painful problems in our relations and find mutually acceptable solutions,” Bagdasaryan said in conclusion.

The 1915 genocide against ethnic Armenians in the Ottoman Empire has been one of the main barriers to normal relations between Armenia and Turkey, which haven’t established diplomatic relations as of yet. One and a half million Armenians who resided in the Ottoman Empire fell victim to the genocide in 1915-1917.

The CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly also discussed the future of the CIS and the Common Economic Space. In this connection, Oleg Grachev, the vice-speaker of the Ukrainian Supreme Rada Committee for Foreign Affairs, told the same news conference in St. Petersburg on Thursday that Ukraine was not planning to quit the CIS and the Common Economic Space. Grachev headed the Ukrainian parliamentary delegation to the 25th plenary session of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly.

He explained that some political forces in Ukraine were propagating views that Ukraine could no longer benefit from the Common Economic Space or the CIS and that there is no use for Ukraine to continue its presence in these organizations. However, no official statements on this subject have been made. The head of the parliamentary delegation is sure that the Supreme Rada wouldn’t have supported such proposals even if they were submitted to it.

Speaking about Russian-Ukrainian relations, Vadim Gustov, the head of the Federation Council Committee for the CIS Affairs, told reporters that “realistically, Ukraine might be ready for a concrete discussion with Russia by late May-early June this year.” He said that Russian and Ukrainian deputies would meet in May 2005 to discuss accession to the WTO and NATO, border cooperation and other strategic issues.

Gennady Seleznyov, the ex-speaker of the Russian State Duma, told reporters that the Ukrainian leaders hadn’t yet worked out a common strategy of interaction with Russia. “We have been hearing different points of view from the president, the government and the Ukrainian parliament,” Seleznyov said.

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