A. Zakaryan says Washington bilateral meeting to put a certain specification in Armenian-Turkish process

YEREVAN, APRIL 8, ARMENPRESS: The proposal of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on organizing a bilateral meeting within the frameworks of a summit on global nuclear security to be held April 12-13 in Washington has been adopted by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan. NA member, member of the Armenian Republican Party faction Artak Zakaryan said at today’s press conference that within the frameworks of the summit the bilateral meeting will put a certain specification in regulation process of Armenian-Turkish relations, which will be noticeable after the meeting.

“Turkey tried to win time in the relations’regulation process seeing certain obstacles in the regulation of the process pointing out the issue of the Armenian Genocide, the decision of the Armenian Constitutional Court, the factor of the Armenian Diaspora or Nagorno Karabakh conflict. But Armenia remains faithful to its position – to improve the relations without preconditions,” he said.

NA member connects the dragging out of time by Turkey with regional changes expected for that country after the possible regulation of relations, but in the recent period in this context he notices illogical and contradictory elements in the Turkish foreign policy.

A. Zakaryan reminded the Armenian president has stated for many times that the regulation process will run without preconditions and must not be linked with the abovementioned issues voiced by Turkey; they are different processes,” he said.

NA member does not consider April 24 a deadline for regulating the relations, though time, too, is a factor for implementing the complicated process of relations between the two countries. According to A. Zakaryan, the process can be considered wholly thrown down in case there is no more mutual comprehension among the two parties.

The statements of the Turkish mass media voiced on the eve, according to which a number of provisions profitable for Turkey have been raised at Washington meetings, do not correspond to reality. “It is not the Turkish mass media that must give basis for the actions of foreign policy. “There are not mentioned such points in Washington meetings,” he added.

Referring to uttering or non-uttering of the word of “genocide” by U.S. President Barack Obama, A. Zakaryan said, “It is of importance that the regulation process of Armenian-Turkish relations does not push the issue of Armenian Genocide to the background; they are different processes, which run separately.