Armenia president urges Turkey to ‘reconcile with its past’
YEREVAN – Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan visiting Greek Cyprus has delivered a message to Turkey, claiming that the country could not become a member of the European Union prior to "reconciling with its past" and forging constructive relations with its neighbors.
Armenia and Turkey have been at odds for decades. The allegations on a "genocide of Armenians" have been one of the stumbling blocks for a normalization of their relations. Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their ancestors were killed by Ottoman Turks during World War I, a charge Turkey denies.
President Sargsyan’s visit to Cyprus aims to expand bilateral economic and trade relations. Sargsyan has held a meeting with the Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias. Christofias was quoted by the Turkish media as saying that the two countries are maintaining friendly relations, adding that his country supports Yerevan on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh.
Both presidents pointed to the importance of further expanding bilateral relations.
"The Armenians living in Cyprus are an extremely active and creative part of Cyprus," Christofias said.
The Armenian president is expected to leave Cyprus for Greece.
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