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YEREVAN, DECEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS:Head of an Armenian research center dealing with Oriental studies said Armenia is interested that Turkey respect all the commitments it has assumed as a candidate for EU membership before moving ahead. Ruben Safrastian, head of the Institute for Oriental Studies, an affiliation of the National Academy of Sciences, told a round table last Saturday that Armenia wants Turkey to be a predictable neighbor, a nation that conforms with European standards and a country that is ready to acknowledge and condemn its predecessor’s crimes. “Turkey is now a country that tries to dodge the commitments it has assumed as a nation seeking EU membership, a country that refuses to acknowledge the black chapters of its history and refuses negotiations with its neighbor over normalization of relations,” he said. Kiro Manoyan, a senior member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), said the last 12 months have shown that Turkey is reluctant to respect these commitments, particularly, the ones relating to Cyprus. He said a reformed Turkey means a Turkey that has recognized the Armenian genocide. He also argued that Armenia should not act as a proponent of Turkey’s EU membership. But Ara Manukian from the former ruling Armenian National Movement (ANM), countered that Turkey’s membership in the European Union is an absolute necessity because Turkey can join it only after sweeping reforms. “If Turkey does not join the EU and is rejected by the whole of Europe it may shift towards some eastern countries harboring terrorism,’ he said.