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On March 18 the Vice Speaker of the National Assembly Samvel Nikoyan received the experts on the Caucasus Region of the U.S. Department of State John Williams, Paul Stronsky and the representative of the U.S. Embassy to Armenia Bard Pudney.

In the course of the meeting the sides discussed the issues relating to the perspectives of the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations. At the guests’ request the NA Vice Speaker presented his assessments on those processes and moods formed in Armenia recently.

According to Samvel Nikoyan, Armenia’s initiative policy directed to the rapprochement of the Armenian-Turkish relations emanates from the necessity of establishing diplomatic relations and peace with the neighboring country. The Armenian authorities realized quite well that the Armenian people will not unequivocally accept that step conditioned by the fact of the genocide perpetrated by Turkey against the Armenian people in their historical motherland at the beginning of the previous century. After signing the two protocols on the normalization of the relations Turkey began making statements contradicting to each other and speaking in the language of preconditions, particularly connecting the ratification of the signed protocols with the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh problem, which is unacceptable for Armenia. Though Turkey repeatedly stated about its political direction of integrating to the system of European values, its behavior connected with the process of ratification of the protocols more reminds the Pan-Turkism ideology. Meanwhile, it’s very important for Armenia to have predictable and positively inclined neighbor, but not the one, which makes discrimination in the means for reaching national goals.

Mr. Nikoyan said that most of us in our country suspiciously refer to the sincerity of Turkey in ratification of the protocols, and if till now Armenia has not come out of the negotiation process, the reason is to preserve reliable partnership relations with Europe, USA and Russia, whose approaches on the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations without preconditions are consonant with the views of Armenia.

Mr. Nikoyan also added that if Turkey tries to rectify its created deadlock and ratify the signed protocols, the NA political majority today is ready to make efforts in normalizing the relations between the two countries.

During the meeting the sides also discussed other issues regarding the regional problems.