Switzerland says history should be discussed by Armenia, Turkey

Thursday, 11 March 2010 11:20

Armenian and Turkish officials should come together and resolve their disagreements to facilitate the ongoing normalization process between the two countries, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey said on Tuesday.
The minister spoke after Mario Fehr, a Social Democratic member of the Swiss National Council, submitted a motion to the federal government on Monday asking whether the recent conviction of three Turkish citizens by a Swiss court for denying the alleged Armenian genocide would have any particular impact on the federal government's approach toward the issue of the killings of Anatolian Armenians during World War I.
Switzerland mediated closed-door talks between Armenia and Turkey for over a year on ways to restore diplomatic relations and open their mutual border before the two parties announced on April 22, 2009, that they had reached an agreement on a road map to normalize their relations.
Calmy-Rey, in her answer to Fehr's motion, first noted that the federal government was not in a position to comment on legal decisions in line with the principle of separation of powers. Recalling an earlier statement on the issue dated March 13, 2009, Calmy-Rey reiterated, “The federal government had stated that Armenia and Turkey should be encouraged to discuss these historical issues in a constructive manner that would also facilitate the ongoing rapprochement between the two countries.” She added, “The federal government notes with pleasure that the two countries signed two protocols aimed at the normalization of these two countries' relations on Oct. 10, 2009, in Zurich.”
Ankara-based sources told the Anatolia news agency that Calmy-Rey's answer is meant to emphasize that the killings of Anatolian Armenians during World War I should be dealt with in line with the protocols, which contain an agreement to establish a historical commission to look at the 1915 events.