The Armenian national soccer team, which had replaced its emblem featuring a silhouette of Turkey's Mount Ararat, known in Turkey as Mount Agr?, ahead of a match against Turkey in a World Cup qualifying game in September, has recently started to use the old emblem again.
The previously new emblem of the Armenian national team, featuring a tiger and a lion instead of the silhouette of Mount Ararat, was introduced to the public at a September press conference in Yerevan, with Armenian Football Federation President Ruben Hayrapetyan saying that the change of emblem was due to demands from football fan associations. Hayrapetyan also said at the time that the previous emblem was not popular among fans of the national team.
Armenian officials had dismissed a connection between the new emblem and the upcoming match; however, the change was widely considered to be a gesture of goodwill by the Armenian side ahead of the match on Sept. 6. Turkish President Abdullah Gul broke his country's foreign policy taboo by visiting Armenia to watch the soccer game. The visit paved the way for contact between Turkey and Armenia, which have had no formal ties since 1993. Since then, public criticism of the Armenian Football Federation's decision to change the previous emblem has surfaced in Turkey's estranged neighbor. The federation has decided to return to its previous emblem, which features a stylized representation of Mount Ararat. One of the conditions Ankara expects Yerevan to fulfill to normalize relations is formal recognition of the current border with Turkey. Turkish decision-makers are concerned that the Armenian administration has claims on Turkish territory, and the depiction of Mount Ararat on the Armenian national team emblem has been interpreted by some as a sign of Armenian irredentist desires.
Sarksyan thanks Turkish people for help during 1988 quake
It has emerged meanwhile that Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan sent a message to his Turkish counterpart on the 20th anniversary of the disastrous Spitak earthquake, expressing his gratitude for the Turkish people's help to Armenian people at the time. Dec. 7 marked the 20th anniversary of the Spitak earthquake, which flattened towns and villages across swathes of the then-Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia, killing 25,000 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.
The world turned its attention to the tragedy in his country soon after the earthquake, Sarksyan noted in his message, adding that this proved that "grief is not one-sided." Sarksyan said that both he and the Armenian people have been grateful to Turkish people and the government of the Turkish Republic for their assistance in the aftermath of the Spitak earthquake.
"We are sure that human actions will always be remembered, will increase clemency and will enlighten the world," he said.
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