12/12/2018 11:13
Armenia differentiates Armenian-Turkish relations from other processes: Acting FM
Armenia’s acting Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan met with Turkish reporters who were in Armenia to cover snap parliamentary elections on December 9.
The Turkish mass media published a number of articles presenting the details of the meeting and Armenian acting FM’s approaches over a number of issues.
A reference was made to the Armenian-Turkish declarations signed in Zurich in 2009. Mnatsakanyan said that the Armenian side fully implemented its commitments and expected the same from Turkey.
“We are ready to regulate our relations without any pre-conditions, but we seem to be alone in this issue. We differentiate the Armenian-Turkish relations from other processes. The other topics tied to these relations are pre-conditions. Armenian-Turkish relations have own logic, and the issue should be treated in that way,” Mnatsakanyan said.
Speaking about Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Mnatsakanyan said that the conflict should be settled on the basis of mutual concessions. He said that since May after the new government assumed its commitments, Armenia has been actively involved in the conflict settlement process and the talks continue with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries and Azerbaijan.
“We will not reach success by compliances and one-sided interferences. The dynamics in the talks and our works are obvious. We claim that the conflict should be settled in peaceful way, through negotiations. It is important for the countries to exert efforts to reduce the tension. Atmosphere of hatred should also be changed,” he said, adding that Nagorno Karabakh’s security and status are priorities for Armenia.