Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic Genocide News

Armenian Dashnaks says ties with Turkey conditional on genocide recognition
by Noyan Tapan, 17 Jan 01
Posted: Saturday, January 20, 2001 03:53 am CST

Yerevan, 16 January: Commenting on the initiation of an Armenia-Turkey dialogue, the bureau of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation - Dashnaktsutyun ARFD on 16 January issued a statement expressing confidence that the "normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, which is of importance to all Armenians, cannot be limited to talks among a narrow circle of officials."

The ARFD bureau stressed that Turkish diplomacy made this move conditional on inadmissible concessions in connection with the recognition of the Armenian genocide by Ottoman Turkey in 1915 and the status of Artsakh Nagornyy Karabakh, and said that "this tendency by Turkish diplomacy is a reflection of Turkey's tactical manoeuvring aimed at slowing down the pace of recognition of the Armenian genocide by the international community and increasing Ankara's chances of joining the European family".

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation - Dashnaktsutyun confirmed its adherence to the principle of resolving issues between the two countries through dialogue and said it was necessary to completely remove any preconditions for the establishment of interstate relations between Armenia and Turkey.

"The irrefutable fact of the Armenian genocide cannot become a subject of bargaining," the statement stressed. The ARFD bureau noted that only compensation for the genocide could become a subject of talks, and added: "If Turkey really wants to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia as a gesture of goodwill, it must first recognize the Armenian genocide."

The statement also said that the issue of Artsakh could not become part of the process of establishing an Armenian-Turkish dialogue either. Noting that Turkey was not and could not be an official party to the Artsakh conflict, the ARFD bureau stressed: "The status of Artsakh must be solved first by way of a bilateral agreement between the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan."

Noting that the Armenian-Turkish dialogue included a whole range of subjects relevant to all Armenians, the Dashnaktsutyun also said that "any attempt in this dialogue to oppose the interests of Armenian statehood to the interests of the diaspora would condemn this dialogue to failure."

The ARFD bureau called on Armenian diplomacy to display sobriety, "to correctly asses Turkey's tactics and not jeopardize the efficient policy shaped over the past two years through the efforts of the Armenian authorities and forces committed to the Ay-Dat (Armenian Cause)".

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