Azernews.Az

Armenia is ready to unconditionally forge diplomatic relations with Turkey and iron out outstanding differences stage by stage, its foreign minister Vardan Oskanian claims.
"We are ready to table any given issue with Ankara on state level," he told the hearings, "Armenian-Turkish relations: problems and prospects", in the Armenian parliament on December 19.
At the same time, Oskanian said Turkey should back down from the conditions it had put forward for the opening of the border between the two countries.
Armenia and Turkey maintain no diplomatic ties, and the border has been closed since 1993 on Ankara's initiative.
Oskanian said Turkey has put forth three pre-conditions for normalizing bilateral relations - resolving the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict in line with the interests of friendly Azerbaijan, recognition by Yerevan of the Turkish border and relinquishing Armenia's claims on the genocide allegedly committed in the Ottoman Empire in 1915.
The Armenian foreign minister said he saw the need for easing tension with Turkey.
"Armenian-Turkish relations are extremely complex, and the weight of the past adds fuel to the fire. But the two countries are still neighbors in the region, and this will always be the case. It is for this reason that establishing normal diplomatic relations is pivotal," Oskanian said.
The Armenian official has apparently presented the pre-conditions put forward by Turkey in his own and distorted fashion. First of all, Ankara demands not "resolution of the Upper Garabagh conflict in favor of Azerbaijan", as he indicated, but liberation of the Armenia-occupied Azerbaijani territories. Likewise, Turkish demand that Yerevan recognize the inviolability of its borders is fully substantiated. It stems from the content of the Armenian Constitution's preamble, which has a reference to Turkey's northeast regions as "western Armenia". Finally, Ankara has repeatedly called on Yerevan to put an end to its political campaign with regard to the "genocide" and hold joint research by the two countries' historians as well as discussions with the participation of foreign experts. However, Armenia has persistently declined the proposal. Instead, it is hipocritically calling on Turkey to launch "unconditional cooperation" by opening up the border while putting aside the Garabagh problem and the "genocide" issue. By making frequent statements of this kind, Armenian officials are trying to persuade the world community of their country's allegedly constructive stance.
The two-day hearings in the Armenian legislature were attended by representatives of numerous international and local organizations, including the European Union special envoy to South Caucasus Peter Semneby.
In his remarks, Semneby suggested establishing an Armenian-Turkish forum, voicing confidence that this would allow to solve all outstanding problems between the two countries.
Semneby said the 27-member EU was interested in stability and normal relations among regional states. He regarded the fact that the borders in the South Caucasus region remain closed as "nothing but an anomaly", saying Europe was worried by the current situation.
"This brings about escalation of tensions and contributes to adverse political climate in the region," the envoy said. "Armenians and Turks should realize that forging relations is a priority, be ready for compromise and take as a basis the principle of advancing by small steps toward the solution of existing problems."