YEREVAN, 5 MAY, ARMENPRESS. Basque Members of the Parliament of Spain visited Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex to pay their respects to the victims of the Armenian Genocide. Basque Member of the Senate of Spain Urko Aiartza and Basque Member of the Congress of Spain Rafael Larreina laid flowers at the Armenian Genocide memorial complex, after which they toured the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.

 In an interview with “Armenpress”, Basque Deputy of the Spanish Senate Urko Aiartza mentioned that great efforts have been made for Spain’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide and voiced hope that those efforts would continue in the years to come.

“Armenpress”: This year Spanish presses provided wide coverage of the Armenian Genocide. More than 50 Spanish-language newspapers provided coverage of the issue. Do you think this is a sign that the Spanish society is starting to understand that the Armenia Genocide must be recognized?

Urko Aiartza: I think the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide provided the opportunity to speak out about this issue, which the society was unaware of prior to the centennial. It’s a pain to see that it took this long for the Genocide to be understood and acknowledged as a fact. Great efforts were made, and we hope more efforts will be made in the years to come.

“Armenpress”: How realistic is recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the Spanish government and parliament in the near future?

 U. A.: Currently, some Spanish districts have recognized the Armenian Genocide, but the issue has to be raised in the Senate and Congress. I can assure you that the Basque representatives within the Senate and Congress and within other institutions like, say, the European Parliament, are involved in the processes of recognition of the Armenian Genocide. We believe it’s a matter of justice.

“Armenpress”: How would you evaluate the parliamentary elections held in Artsakh?

U. A.: I was an observer during the elections in Artsakh along with the representatives of the USA, Australia, France and Germany. I didn’t see any difference between the elections in Artsakh and the elections in our country. There was higher voter turnout in Artsakh than there is in other countries. What we saw was wonderful. This shows that Artsakh is a country that corresponds to all European standards. It’s not internationally recognized, but we hope it is recognized by other countries. The Basques have recognized Nagorno-Karabakh. In this stage we’ll try to have it recognized by other organizations.