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On November 26 the delegation of NGOs, who arrived from Turkey visited the RA National Assembly. They deal with the problems of intellectuals and women. The delegation was in Armenia within the framework of European Integration and Gender Issues of the Urban Sustainable Development Fund. The Turkish delegation expressed wish to meet the women deputies of the National Assembly of Armenia and discuss a number of important issues of Armenia’s adopted policy aimed at the national program of solving women’s problems and raising the effectiveness of the processes of European integration.

The women MPs received the Turkish guests. They expressed hope that women also will promote the effectiveness of the started Armenian-Turkish dialogue with their tact and gentleness.

Demir Rahime Bulut, a research fellow of Bosphorus University, said that she studied the works of Armenian figures, who wrote in Turkish in the early 1990s. In her research work she found many interesting facts about activities and great role of the Armenians in Turkey. In response to this, the Chairwoman of the NA Standing Committee on European Integration, member of Prosperous Armenia Mrs. Naira Zohrabyan said: “I am glad that you are engaged in historical studies, and I am confident that you will be impartial, helping Turkey to admit the historical truth because any state becomes powerful by accepting its past,”

Head of delegation, an associate professor of Fatih University Cafer Ulu is engaged in the study of the Armenian-Turkish relations. She is the author of the voluminous work The Armenians in Turkey. She presented a copy of this book to the library of the National Assembly. During the years of her research work Cafer Ulu discovered that the Armenian influence on the Turkish theatre, music, literature was considerable, at the same time the Turks also had certain impact on the Armenian culture. The Turkish delegates opined that it was necessary to activate the public contacts, to which, in response, Naira Zohrabyan noticed that the societies could influence on the state policy, and expressed confidence that the Turkish society would have courage to admit the historical truth, having an impact on the state position of its country, by this promoting the normalization of relations between the two countries.

According to the Republican MPs Hermine Naghdalyan and Karine Achemyan,  only the active meetings will give possibility to recognize each other well, besides, it’s important that in the initial stage the intellectuals, who are able to form public opinion and guideline, meet.

Larisa Alaverdyan, Anahit Bakhshyan and Zaruhi Postanjyan represent Heritage faction. In their opinion, the closer the contacts of the two societies, the stronger the trust will be, and as honest the history is presented, as much the two peoples will win. According to women MPs of Heritage faction, there is no need for mediators in bilateral contacts.

The Turkish delegates thanked for the warm reception, free talk, expressing hope that such meetings, indeed, will promote the activation of the started Armenian-Turkish dialogue.