SAMI KOHEN - MILLIYET
I did not find the question a young participant in the 5th Armenian Language and Literature Olympiad held in Yerevan last week asked of Armenian President Serge Sarksyan: “Will western Armenia, including Mount Ararat, be united with Armenia?” very surprising.
But the president’s response to this question was stunning and confusing. The brief response of the president to the question was paraphrased by the Turkish media as follows: “We took Nagorno-Karabagh; it is now the next generation’s turn to conquer Ararat.” In response to Sarksyan’s remarks, Prime Minister Erdogan said during his visit to Baku: “This was not a statement befitting a head of state. Sarksyan is provoking us. It is an effort to promote hatred and enmity among the young people of Armenia. The future of Armenian youth will be dark as long as they follow this approach.” The most striking part of the prime minister’s statement was that he expects an apology from Sarksyan. I do not know whether such an apology will become a new condition for the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia. There is not much hope for a solution to this problem. Ankara will not consider taking steps toward restoring diplomatic ties with Yerevan unless concrete progress is made on this issue, whether or not an apology is forthcoming.
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