HistoryofTruth.com - Armenian Allegations

Co-chairmen of the U. S. Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues have expressed reservations regarding Turkey's willingness to cooperate with implementation of its agreements under a set of recently signed protocols, the Armenian Weekly reported Tuesday.

A six-week deadline has been set for both the Turkish and Armenian governments to conclude consultations, and for their respective parliaments to ratify the protocols on the normalization of relations between the two countries. Once ratified, a two-month timetable has been set for the opening of the common border.

Democrat Rep. Frank Pallone and Republican Rep. Mark Kirk questioned several points related to the protocols, including what they called Turkey's pattern of using its ongoing dialogue with Armenia as a „stall tactic“ to delay the opening of borders. The co-chairmen also noted their concern about Turkey's efforts to impose preconditions, adding: “Normalization of relations should take place without preconditions.”

“Any attempt to include a review of historical facts, such as the Armenian genocide, or to include the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh peace process into these negotiations stands in direct opposition to the intent of these talks,” the congressmen said in a rebuke to the historians“commission.

“We remain hopeful that Turkey, by lifting its illegal blockade, will open the door to normalized relations between Yerevan and Ankara, and a new era of Armenia-Turkey relations based on truth, justice, peace, and cooperation,” the caucus co-chairmen said. “By coming to terms with the past and reconciling any current conflicts, Turkey and Armenia will help bring more stability to a volatile and strategic region of the world.”

Earlier this week, Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff, the lead author of the “genocide” resolution, expressed 's erious concerns about some provisions of the protocols,” suggesting: “True reconciliation between the Armenian and Turkish peoples will occur when Turkey acknowledges the genocide that was committed by the Ottoman Empire against Armenians from 1915 to 1923.”