Young Armenians and MPs from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun have demonstrated outside the Russian embassy in Yerevan.
They were protesting at the timing of an official visit to Russia by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which coincides with the 90th anniversary of the Treaty of Moscow.
The treaty, signed by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, led by Ataturk, and the government of Bolshevik Russia, led by Lenin, created Turkey's current borders with Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Kars and the surrounding area became part of Turkey, prompting Armenian protest.
The demonstrators put a statement into a coffin and left it outside the Russian embassy on Wednesday. The coffin was later removed by police, News.am reported.
The protestors carried flags of Armenia and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun, banners saying Erdogan=Ataturk, Medvedev=Lenin?”, “Fraternize with anyone you want, but not at the expense of Armenians”.
Russian politicians and commentators do not link the date of Erdogan’s visit with the treaty anniversary.
Russian State Duma member from the ruling United Russia Party, Sergey Markov, told News.am that the big nations were not concerned at the many problems of smaller nations. The deputy director of the Strategic Culture Foundation, Andrey Areshev, said that the Turkish PM's visit to Moscow should not be governed by historical associations.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
