Sargsyan and Obama discuss normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations and Artsakh conflict settlement
15-04-2010 15:00:00 | USA | Politics
WASHINGTON, APRIL 15, NOYAN TAPAN. The presidents of
Armenia and the United States had a 45-minute meeting late
Monday. The two presidents made no statements following the
talks. According to Radio Liberty, however, prior to the
meeting, a White House official, whose name was not given, told
reporters: "President Obama hopes that thanks to the process
launched in 2009, it will become possible to improve
Armenia-Turkey relations and address long-time disagreements
between them".
Monday was an eventful day for the Armenian
delegation in Washington. In the morning Serzh Sargsyan met with
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The meeting lasted
about an hour and a half. No statements were made after the
meeting, and the two sides did not answer questions of the
reporters.
The Turkish sources reported only that the main
subject of discussion was the letter which Erdogan sent to
Sargsyan the previous week. Zaman said that "the sides
discussed in detail the letter". Another Turkish source - NTV
Television Company reported, referring to members of the Turkish
delegation that soon the foreign ministers of the two countries
would focus their attention on the protocols' ratification
process.
After the Armenian-Turkish talks, Serzh Sargsyan went
to the Washington National Cathedral where he laid flowers at
the tomb of the 28th U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. In the
cathedral, S. Sargsyan addressed members of the Armenian
community in the United States: "Our position was and remains
definite. Turkey cannot use a language of preconditions with
respect of the people of Armenia. We simply will not allow
that".
"We are not going to make the fact of the Genocide the
subject of an examination in any format or to pretend to believe
that Turkey can have any positive role in the Karabakh
negotiating process," S. Sargsyan said, adding: "Any new foreign
political line is subject to changes because we are proceeding
along an untrodden path. I am convinced Armenia will pass this
test with dignity".
At the very moment when President Sargsyan was delivering
this speech, Erdogan was making opening remarks at the George
Mason University's new Center for Global Islamic Studies.
The official Turkish Anatolia news agency said that
commenting on the latest Armenian Genocide resolution passed by
the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives,
Erdogan stated: "History does not get written in parliaments and
it cannot become a subject of condemnation by a parliament. We
opened all our archives and we suggested the formation of a
historical commission, but we did not receive a response.
Decisions adopted by parliaments will not benefit Armenia".