HistoryofTruth.com - Armenian Allegations

Turkey wants Armenia to change its stance on thorny issues, such as the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh dispute and ‘genocide’ issues, says a top official from a right wing Armenian party, adding they will not make concessions on these topics. Without progress on Karabakh, borders will not be opened, he adds
While giving tacit support to normalization talks between Turkey and Armenia, a senior Armenian right wing official said his party would not make concessions on the long-standing territorial dispute over self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh region or the alleged «genocide» issue.
«Despite the fact that no Turkish preconditions were mentioned in the protocols, Turkey still has them. The Turkish government wants Armenia to backpedal on the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute and the genocide issue," said Levon Mkrtchyan, member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, or Dashnaktsutyun, and former deputy foreign minister during the administration of Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan. Dashnaktsutyun left Armenia’s governing coalition in April in protest over the talks with Ankara.
Turkey and Armenia agreed on steps toward establishing full diplomatic ties for the first time between the neighbors last month. The countries will hold six weeks of domestic debate over the protocols, drawn up under Swiss mediation, before they are submitted for ratification by their parliaments, the Turkish Foreign Ministry in Ankara said in a statement on its Web site on Sept. 1. Armenia’s ministry issued an identical announcement.
The first sign of rapprochement came in September last year, when Turkish President Abdullah Gül went to the Armenian capital of Yerevan to visit President Serge Sarkisian and watch a World Cup soccer qualifying match between the two countries. Sarkisian is expected to visit Turkey for a return match on Oct. 14.
The two neighbors have no diplomatic relations and their border was closed in 1993 in response to Armenia’s invasion of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory and Armenia’s pressure on the international community with the backing of its diaspora to support the genocide claims, instead of accepting Turkey’s call to investigate the allegations. U. S. President Barack Obama visited Ankara in April and said he hoped efforts to normalize relations between the two would «bear fruit.»
Karabakh, border link
Mkrtchyan, who also served as education minister between 1998 and 2001, said he believes that the border between Armenia and Turkey would not be opened without progress in the Karabakh issue. «Turkey places its loyalties with Azerbaijan. Without progress on Karabakh, borders will not be opened and the Turkish Parliament will fail to ratify the protocols," he said.
Turkey suggested that a committee of Turkish and Armenian historians re-examine the events of 1915, which could open ways for Turks and Armenians to come together by using archives in Turkey, Armenia and other countries. Ankara has said the Turkish authorities would respect the conclusions of such a task force, but the Armenian leadership has rejected the overture, dismissing it as merely a political maneuver.
Commenting on the offer of a committee of historians, Mkrtchyan said: «Genocide is a fact and we, the Armenians spread all over the world, are the living proof of that. The foundation of a committee would mean Armenian suffering for a second time.»
The stance among the Armenian politicians over the events of 1915 is clear, no matter whether they are in the ranks of the ruling party or the opposition, said Mkrtchyan. «There is only one way for Turkey regarding the solution of the problem: recognizing the genocide and take its historic responsibility. Progress could be made, if Turkey fulfills its responsibilities.»
Settling a century of animosity between Turkey and Armenia would help foster stability in the southern Caucasus, through which Caspian oil flows to European markets, experts say. It may also boost Turkish chances of achieving European Union membership and, predominantly, improve the country’s relationship with the United States, where congress has been pressed to push for Turkish recognition of the 1915 events.
Mkrtchyan also criticized Western nations for their mediation role in Armenian-Turkish negotiations, saying: «The West do have their own political agenda for the Caucasus region. So, they have made swift decisions on the Karabakh dispute. However, Karabakh has historical links with Armenia and we don’t have any interest in abandoning the region.»